One last candle to keep out the night
by fallfromreality
Summary: After the war, everything seems to be looking up for the wizarding world, until the marriage law is enacted. Hidden fears brought to light, and old wounds reopened. Has the wizarding world survived the war, only to self-destruct? rated T for now -Unfinished-
1. Chapter 1

¬This is the edited version of the first chapter and the second chapter should follow shortly :)¬

Go easy on me, this is my first Fanfiction attempt ever, so I would appreciate constructive criticism and not just complete bashing if you wouldn't mind, but if you can't manage that I can take the bashing. Oh and any positive reviews will be loved and I will reply personally to every review, negative or positive. Extended Summary: Despite the fact that the wizarding world has steadily been rebuilding itself after the war, those who took part in the horrors of this wizarding war seem to be unable to handle everything that has happened. Hermione Granger, still the brightest witch of the age, has played a major part in keeping everyone else from completely breaking, but she is finding it harder and harder to remain strong. Despite this, she continues struggling alone, trying to piece her life back together bit by bit, after taking her NEWTs (passing with O on all 13 she took), she accepted a job in the Unspeakable department. She quickly become, well known for her hard work and dedication to the job. Then the unthinkable happens, the ministry passes the marriage law, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them Can a broken Hermione, together with her husband, fix not only each other but the wizarding world? I will be sticking to pretty much everything but the epilogue of the seventh book, but I'm killing off Narcissa Malfoy for story-line purposes. The main couple featured in this story will be Lucius/Hermione, but it will also feature, Harry/Pansy, Draco/Ginny, Ron/Luna, Neville/Hannah abbot, and George/Angelina ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On with the story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stood in front of her mirror, silently casting a modified version of a disillusion charm, to hide the dark purple bags under her eyes, pulling on a baggy sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Her mind wondered as she continued her morning routine, and once again she found herself thinking about everything that happened during the war. How every time she closed her eyes, she could see the bodies littering the ground around her, hear the screams ring out, smell the metallic scent of blood and she even when she opened them she couldn't forget.

Despite this, she knew that the second she arrived at the burrow, she would put on her brave face and continue to pretend everything was okay. Then like always, everyone one else would be too wrapped up in trying to hold themselves together to realize how broken she really was...

Her thoughts were interrupted, when the alarm in her bedroom went off, signifying that it was time for her to get out of bed. Unfortunately as usual, she had been awoken long before the alarm went off.

Hermione looked once more at her reflection, grabbing her wand, before she walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She stopped in front of her nightstand and glanced at her alarm clock as it continued to ring. Finally reaching up and gently pressing the off button, silencing the alarm for the time being, hoping tomorrow she might actually need it.

She left her bedroom, making her way down the hall, and into her dark kitchen. Without turning on the light, she went over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. She broke the seal with a resounding pop, leaning against the refrigerator door while she drank the contents of the bottle. *Only a few more hours to kill before the meeting at the burrow* She thought as she placed the half empty water bottle back into the refrigerator and continued to lean against the door deep in thought.

After sometime, Hermione found herself curled up on her couch reading a Hogwarts, A history for the billionth time. Like always she found that it too easy to lose herself in the pages and forget about everything that was troubling her. She might have sat there all day, had it not been for her infuriatingly accurate internal clock telling her it was time to leave for the borrow.

After reading the last page, she let out a small sigh, before grabbing her wand and apparating to outskirts of the burrow. When she landed, she had to take a second to collect herself for it some reason apparating was something she just couldn't get used to.

She had only taken a few steps, when she heard a loud pop from behind her, and without a second thought, she turned, shoving her wand into the throat of the person behind her.

Instead of the enemy she expected, she found herself looking in to the startled eyes of one George Weasley, "Oh My God, George I'm so sorry, y-y-you startled me" she stammered, as she put her wand into her pocket and fought back the embarrassing flush threatening to take over her face.

George just nodded and shrugged, giving her a smile that never reached his eyes "It's okay Hermione, I would be startled too it a bloke as good looking as me suddenly appeared behind me." he joked but it was a half-hearted attempt at best and she found it so depressing she almost wished he hadn't even tried. Yet she forced herself to smile and laugh, because it was so rare for George to even talk, let alone joke that when he did, everyone tried to laugh.

She gave another forced grin as George gestured to the house, and then started down the path to the burrow, leaving Hermione to try and catch up with his particularly long strides. At a petite size of 5'1, keeping up with George who towered over her at about 6'1, was extremely difficult, and she ended up practically jogging to keep up with him.

Finally the two of them reached the door, and Hermione quietly steeled herself for what lay beyond. After a second or two, George opened the door and immediately the two of them were greeted by Mrs. Weasleys rather large bosom as she pulled them into a tight embrace.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you two, it's been so long, and I've missed you all dearly." Mrs. Weasley announced cheerfully, though you could see the sadness deep within her eyes, when she saw George without Fred at his side.

"Mrs. Weasley, I love you but you're suffocating me" Hermione managed to get out, as Molly continued to press her tightly into her chest, as though she was afraid that they would disappear if she let them go.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Molly released them but not before reprimanding Hermione, "Please dear, call me Molly." Hermione replied with the usual, "Will do, Mrs. Weasley" She looked around, until her eyes came to rest on the table, apparently George and her were the last two to arrive.

"Hermione, thank god you're finally here, I was beginning to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of testosterone in the room. I'm in dire need of some estrogen" Ginny called from her seat next to Harry, "Hurry, I managed to save you a seat but you never know when one of these gits might decide to steal it!"

Hermione let out a small laugh and maneuvered around the large table to take her seat next to Ginny, exchanging greeting with the other along the way. Despite her immeasurable love for those at the table, all the greetings felt half-hearted and everyone at the table seemed to lack all the spark they had before the war. Not that she was surprised, even after half a year; they were all struggling to come to terms with both the events during the war and everything that has happened as a result.

Hermione glanced around the table, and couldn't help the sadness that struck her, when her eyes settled on the empty seat next to George. Despite, what most might have thought, Hermione truly did love the twins, though she found their constant rule breaking annoying, they had a special place in her heart. She had always admired their ability to bring joy to those around them, no matter how dark the times, and to say that she had lost a piece of herself upon Fred's death simply couldn't do it justice.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when green flames shot out of the fire-place as Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new minister of magic, stepped into the living room and took a seat at the table, next to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Though Hermione had been anticipating bad news, when she had first received the summons, she knew that she had failed to truly prepare herself when she saw Kingsleys face. He looked so tired, and for once he looked old, as though someone had come and taken away all the fight he had left

As he opened his mouth, Hermione started to prepare her for the worst but nothing could have prepared her for what happened next, as he solemnly declared, "Against my advice Wizengamot has recently passed a marriage law, which will be effective immediately, for all witches and wizards between the ages of sixteen and fifty five who are unmarried. Please, know I tried as hardest to stop this law from being passed, but I was severely outnumbered by those in favor of the law." Kingsley told the, seeming to grow older with every word, but he collected himself and continum solemnly on after a few seconds.

"I lost most of my supporters after the latest wizarding population survey came back and revealed that we lost almost half the wizarding population during or as a direct result of the war. I also came to extend my sincerest apologizes to you all and to let you know that I tried my hardest to stop this." For a mere second following Kingsley declaration there was silence, but after that the room was thrown into chaos, as everyone tried to voice their opinions at once.

"How can they do this to...?" "I absolutely refuse to even think about taking part in this barbaric law..." "This is ridiculous, after everything how could they?" "What if we don't like our future spo...?" "How will they choose who we belong to?" "This isn't fair; I'm already in love with..." "They can't do this to our children; I won't stand for this..." "Haven't we suffered enough at the hands of the ministry?" "There has to be something you can do Kingsley" "This is so not happening, do they think…"

Finally the chorus of voices came to an abrupt halt, when there was a small tap at the window; Mrs. Weasley quickly got up and opened it. The room was quickly flooded with Ministry owls, landing in front of everyone, waiting for them to take their parcels.

Everyone stared in, a range of emotions passing over all their faces. Most of them were still trying to wrap their minds around what they had just been told, were unable to truly grasp that the evidence of what they were trying so hard to deny was sitting right in front of them.

Hermione was the first to move, as she quietly took the letter from the owl's leg, her hands trembling as she broke the wax seal and pulled out the parchment. Her movements seemed to pull the others out of their trances, and they each slowly reached for their own letter.

Dear Hermione Granger, A new law has been passed by the Wizengamot, binding all eligible witches and wizards between the ages of sixteen and fifty-five to the bonds of marriage. This law was passed in order to repopulate the wizarding world, and also to aide in dispelling any lingering tensions between the remaining population of our world. We will be selecting you're husband or wife using various compatibility tests and spells, which should provide the name of the person you are best suited to. The next piece of parchment to arrive will contain the details of the law, and the name of your future betrothed. Sincerely, The ministry of Magic

Hermione looked up from the letter in her hands unable to mask the horror crossing her features; despite Kingsley warning, she found that reading the letter made what he said concrete, and undeniable. This honestly made things worse, because it's much easier to pretend that what someone says isn't true, when the evidence of his words isn't staring you in the face.

She glanced around the rest of the table, and found that one by one everyone looked up, with matching expressions of horror and shock.

Ginny stood up, anger quickly taking the forefront of her expression, and loudly declared, "I'm simply not going to stand for this, I'm leaving right this instant to go have a talk with those pretentious old bastards. I mean, who do they think they are? They pass this pathetic excuse for a law and expect us all to follow without any protest, but they feel as though none of them actually have to take part in it! Un-Fucking-Believable."

While Ginny went on her tirade, Hermione saw Harry place his hands over his face, and she could tell how worried he was that Ginny would be matched with someone aside from him. She also noticed that Ron seemed to have steam bellowing out of his ears, and she knew that if someone didn't say something he was going to blow a fuse.

With that Hermione made her decision, as Ginny started towards the fireplace, she leaned over and grasped her hand, amber eyes, dark with uncertainty and fear. "Ginny, I know that you know, that I completely agree with you and I would gladly join you but I also know that the only thing that would achieve, is getting the two of us in trouble and possibly resulting in a situation far worse than this, for all of us. So please, calm down, because after everything we have been through, the last thing we need is for things to get any worse than they already are."

Ginny froze mid-step and slowly turned around, clearly trying to fight back tears "But Hermione, what if we get paired with people we've never met or god forbid someone who fought on the other side of the war? If I can't fight this, then I don't know what to do...I don't think I could survive if I was matched with someone aside from Harry"

Hermione stood up and took Ginny into her arms, "I can't promise everything will be okay, but I can assure you that the likelihood of Harry and you not being matched is slim to none. So please, just take a deep breath and know that whatever happens we won't abandon you!" Hermione continued, as the red-head tried not to let anyone see her shoulder shaking or hear her pitiful attempt at silencing her tears, before she moved them back to the table.

The temporary silence was shattered when Ron jumped up, knocking his chair over in the process, his eyes alight and his ear almost blending in with his hair they were so red. It was clear his temper had finally taken over "I don't care what you say, Hermione! This is absolutely ridiculous; those bloody gits can't honestly think they are going to get away with this? Can they?" He screamed, as he wheeled around to face Kingsley "How in the name of Merlin could you have let this happen? They have no right to do this to us?" he ranted, spraying a fine mist of spit in Kingsley direction.

Hermione watched with growing irritation, as Ron continued to rant and rave as though he was the only one being forced into this by the ministry of magic. Let alone that unlike the rest of his brothers, who had the decency to look like they wanted to murder someone for hurting their sister, Ron was only concerned about him self...like usual.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you sit down and shut up this instant or I swear to Merlin I will hex you into oblivion." Hermione stated with a deadly edge to her voice, unsurprisingly Ron immediately shut-up, as everyone else stared at her in shock, unprepared for the fiery anger they saw in her eyes.

"Honestly, your ability to make everything about you, all the while completely ignoring the fact that everyone else is suffering just like you, never ceases to amaze me. You are without a doubt the most self-absorbed prick I know, how do you manage it? I mean you make Malfoy look like a bloody saint" Hermione finished, with a satisfied smirk, as Ron reluctantly sat down.

After Ron's verbal lashing, Ginny burst into the first sincere fit of laughter any of them had heard for quite some time. Apparently watching Ron get beat-down was something everyone found amusing, because after a few seconds she was joined by everyone at the table. Even Hermione herself eventually joined in, shortly followed by Ron, who figured it was safe to join in if Hermione did.

"Oh Merlin, Hermione, you have no idea how much I enjoy it when you ring my brother out" Ginny said in-between fits of laughter, though her eyes were still swollen from her earlier tears, they were now alight with laughter instead of dimmed by sadness.

Hermione replied with the first real smile to grace her lips since the final battle, glancing around the room, noticing that for the first time in a long time everyone at the table was smiling and laughing like they had before the war.

*Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all* She thought to herself, as she gave in once against to the laughter that came bubbling up in her chest, and allowed the warmth to fight away the heavy weight of all her sorrows.

After that, the group passed the time, trying as hard as they could to ignore the rising panic they felt, and pretending that they might all just wake up to find that this was all just a dream.

Finally after what seemed like years, owls came swooping through the window Molly had left open for them, and once again landed directly in front of the people at the table.

Hermione was truly petrified, because this piece of parchment would dictate the rest of her life. She reached out, trying to be brave for the others, despite the desire to run without ever looking back and took the parchment from the owl.

She opened it and she was greeted by the sight of beautiful writing that did nothing but fill her with dread.

_Dear Hermione Granger, This letter contains the formal details of the Marriage law which will be put into effect immediately. Please read through each details of this law thoroughly because failure to comply with any of the following terms will result in the immediate stripping of memory, magic and expulsion from the wizarding world. The terms of Wizarding Law 20356 are as follows;_

_Section One: All witches and wizards are required to marry within a month, and they must be married by a member of the Ministry elected by the Ministry. Witches and Wizards will be married in the same way they have been for centuries, without any deviations, and as it has been for centuries, divorce is impossible. The Ministry's decision is final and anyone who tries to rebel against our decision will face the consequences without pity or care for title, powers or history._

_Section two: To ensure fertility, every witch and wizard will be tested vigorously to ensure that they are fertile, before the wedding takes place. Should both the witch and wizard be proven fertile, they will have exactly 24 hours after the wedding to consummate the marriage. The ministry employ who dictates the wedding, will also place a spell on each witch and wizard to ensure that they go through the consummation process._

_Section three: At anytime during the marriage a witch or wizard is found to be using any means contraceptives, whether muggle or magical, they will be sent to Azkaban for a minimum of six months. In order to ensure that this part of the law is followed, check-ups will be scheduled monthly, all witches and wizards will be tested to make sure that they complying. Though after the first child is born, these visits will cease, unless a witch or wizard has been accused of disobeying this law._

_Section four: By the time of the marriage, all witches and wizards are expected to be living permanently with their spouses in a residence chosen during the month allotted them (whether it is purchased or chosen between their residencies). Spouses will be required to sleep in the same bed, be warned that a ministry employ can stop by unannounced at anytime to ensure that this is being done. Two warnings will be issued, if it is found that a witch or wizard is refusing to comply and if a third warning is issued, a minimum of six-months in Azkaban will be awarded. There is only one exception to this, if a witch becomes pregnant, she is allowed to sleep in her own bed, but only if she is uncomfortable sharing a bed with her spouse._

_The ministry asks that all witches and wizards with whom this law applies, please follow the afore mentioned conditions because as the Ministry cares for each and every wizard under its rule. They would regret having to carry out any of the punishment mentioned above, though make no mistake, ANY failure to comply with this law will result in the harshest punishments, because the ministry believes in leading by example. Sincerely, _

_The ministry of Magic _

_P.S. The ministry wishes to congratulate all witches and wizards on their up and coming marriage._

She couldn't take it anymore, and she flung the first piece of paper to the ground. Then she stood up and began to pace, completely unaware that one by one every eye began to follow her "How dare they. How dare those ignorant gits think that they can get away with this!" Hermione stopped for a second as if trying to collect her thoughts, "Then they have the audacity to make it impossible for anyone to protest without being thrown into Azkaban or worse taken from the wizarding world all together! Kingsley, how is it possible for them to do this?" Hermione asked softly, suddenly all the anger was gone as quickly as it had come.

Hermione spun around and stared at the others, noticing how they too seemed to simply resign to their fates. *It's amazing how much the war has changed us...only months ago we would have fought this to the end, but now fighting is the last thing any of us truly wish to do again*

She slowly took her seat and stared at the others, letting one broken whisper escape her lips before she reached for the second piece of parchment "How could they do this to us? Have we not sacrificed everything to them? What more could they possibly take from us?"

She wasn't surprised when no one could give her an answer, so instead of waiting, she reached for the second parchment, once again her hands shaking so badly she could hardly read the words. She had tried to prepare herself for the worst but unfortunately, nothing could have prepared her, because sometimes nightmares just don't do reality justice.

Dear Hermione Granger, After numerous tests, we have determined that Lucius Malfoy is most suited for you. We hope that this letter finds you in good health, -Sincerely The Ministry of Magic

Hermione simply stared at the parchment, as it slowly slipped from her fingers, and she pushed back from the table so quickly that her chair fell to the floor with a resounding bang. She felt her chest constricting, as she lost the ability to breathe

Black spots danced around her vision, as her legs gave out underneath her and she collapsed to the floor. Memories of her torture in the Manor and the oppressive weight of the eyes that watched it all with a heavy silence seemed to attack her all at once. How could they allow her to be married to a death-eater, who had not only encouraged his son to verbally assault her at every turn but often times joined in. Let alone the same man who had attacked them all in the Ministry of Magic and witnessed her torture at the hands of his insane sister-in-law?

Slowly she became aware of the fact that someone had pulled her into their chest, rocking her softly while they rubbed her back reassuringly. "It's okay Hermione, we're here for you, just breathe" came Harry's soothing voice, "We will all get through this, I promise" he continued, and she felt herself steadily regaining her composition.

"I'm sorry" she choked out, when she had finally calmed herself down "I'm sure you're all in the same situation as me, but I just…" she stopped unable to continue.

She let Harry pull her up, and carefully guide her back into her chair, which someone had been kind enough to put back up for her. "Hermione, who are you supposed to marry?" Harry asked her softly, unsure if he truly wanted to know the answer to his own question.

"I've been given to Lucius Malfoy" she replied, though her voice broke pitifully as she spoke his name, all hints of her normal bravery seemed to vanish. "Not that it really matters, there's nothing I can do to change it" she said bitterly, cutting everyone off, as they had just begun to protest, and clearly leaving no opening for anyone to say anything more, "what about you guys?"

It seemed that everyone else had neglected to read their second letters, and one by one they all read their letters, a rainbow of emotions coloring the room.

"They've matched me to Draco Malfoy" Ginny cried, practically hysterical "but I'm in love with Harry, we're supposed to be together, don't they understand that?"

Mr. Weasley stood up suddenly, saying something for the first time, "How can they give you girls to these death eaters? We fought to keep you alive and now they are just handing you to the enemy with a bow and expecting us to be okay with it?" he seethed, looking at Kingsley, demanding answers silently.

Kingsley only looked away "Arthur, there was nothing I could do and the only thing protesting will get any of us is time in Azkaban or something far worse. Please, I beg of you, try to make the best of this situation because unless you want to suffer the consequences, you have no other choice"

Mr. Weasley let out a huge sigh, "Kingsley is there any chance of this being repealed?" he asked softly.

Kingsley only shook his head solemnly, unable to look Mr. Weasley in the face, even as he replied, "Please Kingsley, think of my two girls, don't let them be another casualty of a war that was supposed to be over many years ago"

Hermione couldn't help but feel a rush of love, when Mr. Weasley said his two girls. Despite the fact that she had no idea what happened to her real parents, she had another pair right here, who would give their lives for her in a second.

"Who are you paired with?" Ginny asked Harry, breaking the dark silence that had settled over the room after Mr. Weasleys outburst, anger and bitterness making her tone much sharper then she intended it to be.

"Pansy Parkinson" Harry replied, voice laden with sadness and resignation. The Ministry was taking him from the one person who could make the nightmares fade and replace them with the possibilities of the future.

"How could they think Pig-faced Pansy Parkinson is better for you then me?" Ginny asked, though it was clear she didn't want an answer. "We are meant for each other, we survived a war to be together, and how can they expect us to just forget we ever had anything?"

Hermione looked away, unable to take the sadness in her two best friend's eyes, because they had always been meant for each other. Their fate was far crueler then hers, for they had to surrender the love of their lives to the enemy or risk losing everything including the memories they have left of each other. How could fate be so cruel?

No one said anything for a few minutes, and a heavy silence settled over them all. As the others found it, harder and harder to pick-up the parchment in front of them. For fear that they too would suffer a fate as cruel as the first three.

Finally Ron and Luna simultaneously picked up the parchment in front of them, and their eyes connected after a few seconds.

"I'm paired with Ron" "I'm paired with Luna" The two cried at the same time, as huge grins broke out upon their faces, because you see, Ron and Luna had been "secretly" going out for the longest time.

*At least someone gets a happy ending* Though Hermione sadly, not that she wasn't truly happy for her friends, she just wished deep down that she had been paired with someone who loved her like Ron loved Luna.

"I'm sure that we'll have lots of watsharpted nargles at our wedding," Luna's dreamy voice floated through the room, as she looked at Ron from across the table.

Ron smiled fondly at Luna, "I'm sure we will Luna, I'm sure we will"

Everyone, including Hermione herself, spent a few moments enjoying the fact that two of her dearest friends, were going to marry who they loved, before the last two at the table opened their letters.

"Angelina Johnson, I got Angelina Johnson" George cried before apparating out of the room with no warning.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Ron asked the remaining members of the room, and no one replied, because all of them were just as confused as the others.

Finally Neville, the only one who had yet to look at the piece of parchment in front of him, picked it up and read it silently. As he read, a small smile appeared on his face, and you see him visibly relaxing "I got Hannah Abbot"

Everyone smiled and almost at once congratulated him, because everyone knew the two of them had been crushing on each other long before the war ever started.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, I wanted to apologize for how long this chapter took, and I wanted to let everyone know that from now on I will try to update at least once a week. I really hope I did a decent job with this chapter, I was pretty nervous about doing something from Lucius's POV, because in my opinion he's a very complex chapter. Also please know, that he has not completely changed, nor will he within the first few chapter, he's made progress and he's not so much of a prick but he is still Lucius Malfoy, so I hope no one gets turned off by the way I potray him.

Finally I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed,

FiOnAFiO: Thanks for the review, hopefully I won't let you down with the next few chapters

Kohana Moon: Thank you for pointing that out, I'm uploading the edited version of chapter one, and I fixed the whole purebloods must marry either a half-blood or a muggleborns thing. :

Jessi: Hope you like Lucius's reaction, I didn't want to make it too over the top, because Lucius doesn't strike me as the type to make a big scene or completely blow his casket (at least not more than once in the same day )

Lilo: Thank you for your reviews and for encouraging me so much, I really do appreciate it 3

ShakespeareActressVampire, midnight shadow of darkness, Queensofdemons68, Krozz, and Beta Mimosa: thank you for your reviews, and I hope you like this chapter, all of you made me smile with your reviews

DZAuthorAKADZMom: Thank you so much for your reviews, and I'm thinking I might use the retreat idea. IT sounds like a good way to help the couples bond, and I'm definitely planning for Hermione to have some serious trauma brought up as a result of her current situation. Also, I'm intending for both of them to have come beauty & beast aspects, if that makes sense?

Once again, thank you everyone for reviewing, it means a lot to me

Also, I'm looking for a beta, if anyone is interested I would really appreciate it

~Chapter Start~

Lucius stood in front of the large bay window in his study, staring out at the beautiful gardens below, slowly sipping from the tumbler of fire-whiskey in his hands. He had grown to hate how perfect they were, it made him feel like fate was laughing at him, surrounding him by perfection but robbing him of everything he held dear. His wife had been killed by the very man he had sworn his allegiance too and because Voldemort killed his wife, he lost his son as well, though he still breaths, he loathed him with a passion he hadn't known the boy possessed.

With a huge sigh, Lucius turned to stare at the pure white piece of parchment discarded innocently on his hand-carved mahogany desk. With that one letter, the ministry had landed the final blow on his ego; he was being forced to remarry a woman, only six months and two days after his wife had been murdered in front of him. Though, thanks to the few insiders he still had in the ministry, he had found out about this abysmal law two weeks ago, but for some reason he had managed to convince himself that it would never pass. Look where that got him, a few weeks of ignorance, and now he the evidence of his mistake was staring him in the face. Now he simply stood, waiting to find out who those blubbering fools had paired him with.

Then, with rage he didn't even know he possessed, he found himself throwing the tumbler, still half full of fire-whiskey at the wall besides him. It shattered in a shower of glass and liquid, which for some reason filled Lucius with extreme satisfaction. Next thing he knew, he had knocked over or smashed every last thing on his desk, destroyed all three bookshelves on the wall to his left, and scattered papers all over the room. With a deep sigh, Lucius attempted to calm his erratic breathing, pulling his new wand from its holster; he began and finished the repairs with just a few swishes of his wand.

Finally, he managed to regain his breath, and with one last sigh, he walked around his desk so he could sit down in his black leather desk chair. Dropping into his seat, he leaned his head back, closing his eyes, and resolving to stay exactly where he was until the next owl arrived. He just couldn't wait to find out the name of the wench the Wizengamot had placed him with.

_Tap. Tap. Tap_. Lucius jolted out of the light sleep he had slipped into, and with a twitch of his wand opened the window to allow the owl in. Without any prodding, the owl swooped in and landed in front of him, offering the leg which bore an off-white letter. Lucius, never one to delay his suffering, reached up and pulled the letter off the owls leg, and ripping it open so he could pull out the letters within.

_Dear Lucius Malfoy, _

_This letter contains the formal details of the Marriage law which will be put into effect immediately. Please read through each details of this law thoroughly because failure to comply with any of the following terms will result in the immediate stripping of memory, magic and expulsion from the wizarding world. The terms of Wizarding Law 20356 are as follows;_

_Section One: All witches and wizards are required to marry within a month, and they must be married by a member of the Ministry elected by the Ministry. Witches and Wizards will be married in the same way they have been for centuries, without any deviations, and as it has been for centuries, divorce is impossible. The Ministry's decision is final and anyone who tries to rebel against our decision will face the consequences without pity or care for title, powers or history._

_Section two: To ensure fertility, every witch and wizard will be tested vigorously to ensure that they are fertile, before the wedding takes place. Should both the witch and wizard be proven fertile, they will have exactly 24 hours after the wedding to consummate the marriage. The ministry employ who dictates the wedding, will also place a spell on each witch and wizard to ensure that they go through the consummation process._

_Section three: At anytime during the marriage a witch or wizard is found to be using any means contraceptives, whether muggle or magical, they will be sent to Azkaban for a minimum of six months. In order to ensure that this part of the law is followed, check-ups will be scheduled monthly, all witches and wizards will be tested to make sure that they comply. Though after the first child is born, these visits will cease, unless a witch or wizard has been accused of disobeying this law._

_Section four: By the time of the marriage, all witches and wizards are expected to be living permanently with their spouses in a residence chosen during the month allotted them (whether it is purchased or chosen between their residencies). Spouses will be required to sleep in the same bed, be warned that a ministry employ can stop by unannounced at anytime to ensure that this is being done. Two warnings will be issued, if it is found that a witch or wizard is refusing to comply and if a third warning is issued, a minimum of six-months in Azkaban will be awarded. There is only one exception to this, if a witch becomes pregnant, she is allowed to sleep in her own bed, but only if she is uncomfortable sharing a bed with her spouse._

_The ministry asks that all witches and wizards with whom this law applies, please follow the afore mentioned conditions because as the Ministry cares for each and every wizard under its rule. They would regret having to carry out any of the punishment mentioned above, though make no mistake, ANY failure to comply with this law will result in the harshest punishments, because the ministry believes in leading by example. Sincerely, _

_The ministry of Magic _

_P.S. The ministry wishes to congratulate all witches and wizards on their up and coming marriage_.

Lucius could hardly believe his eyes, _who do these bastards take me for? A fool? They are just lucky that I refuse to go back to Azkaban because I'm almost tempted to go hex them to hell despite my experiences there. _

Then he grabbed the other letter, unfolding it quickly, tensing despite his best attempts to pretend that he wasn't anxious about who he was paired with.

Dear Mr. Lucius Malfoy,

We hope this letter finds you in good health, and we wish you the best of luck with your new wife/husband _Hermione J. Granger. _

Sincerely,

The Ministy

Lucius Malfoy was never one to be without words, but to say he was speechless was an understatement. Those bloody gits had paired him with the Hermione Granger, one third of the blasted Golden trio, muggleborn that his son and he had verbally abused at every opportunity, and who had been tortured in his home. How did they decide they would be a good match? He could only imagine what the girl was thinking, she was probably about to kill herself...after all who would want to be married to him? He was a monster in their eyes, and he wasn't even going to try to say that he didn't deserve the title. He had done absolutely everything in his power to make their lives hell, and if he recalled correctly he had battled them in their fifth year in the department of mysteries.

He had no real problem with that fact that the girl was a muggle-born, while he still believed that muggles themselves were lesser-beings, he could no longer deny that muggleborns possessed magic and deserved a place in the wizarding world. He himself couldn't really say when his opinions changed, but it's hard to go through a war won by the side who represents the opposition to everything you believe in, and not at least think about how that could be possible if he was truly right. Also, he had witnessed many of his fellow purebloods in action, and he was loath to admit it, but they were just the same as the average wizard except for the fact that they had names attached to them.

Though, he wasn't a completely changed man, he had changed a little, for many reasons, but one of them was how superior the Granger girl, and Lilly Evans had been compared to many of the purebloods he had fought alongside. It had always boggled his mind that the Granger girl could so effortlessly beat his son and every other pureblood in the school at everything, but he had been in denial, simply chalking it up to luck. He knew better then that now, but how on earth could he persuade her to believe him?

He had one month to marry and move in with the girl, also during that short time he was somehow supposed to convince her that he wasn't quite the monster he had been before. What did that Wizengamot take him for? He wasn't a bloody miracle worker. Then on top of that he had a year to produce an heir with a girl who hated him, which only reminded him he was expected to consummate their marriage only twenty four hours after they'd said I do. It was utterly impossible, they were going to turn him into a monster, he had done his best to avoid rape when he was a death eater and now it seemed his own government was going to turn him in to a rapist only six months after he'd given up his death eater persona.

After some time, he couldn't be exactly sure how long, except for the fact that sun had long since set, he pulled himself together, reached for a piece of parchment and a quill. He was going to compose a letter to the granger girl, and ask her to meet him for lunch tomorrow, why delay the inevitable, they at least needed to attempt to try and make the best out of this situation. He absolutely refused to let those bloody gits ruin his life, if they couldn't learn to love each other, they could at least try to get along.

He dipped his quill into his ink pot, and with a sigh began to write-

_Dear Ms. Granger, _

he paused, trying to think of exactly what in Merlin's name he was going to write to her, after much thought he continued-

_I know that you probably believe the worst of me, with no reason to believe otherwise, but I'm hoping you will meet me for lunch tomorrow at noon. So that we might have the __opportunity__ to talk about our current situation, please respond as quickly as you can. _

_Sincerely, _

_Lucius A. Malfoy. _

Feeling about as satisfied as he thought possible, Lucius summoned his personal house elf, "Inkie" he called.

"Master called" The high pitched voice of the small house elf squeaked out, "What can I do for master?"

"Inkie, I need you to take this letter to the owlery and ensure that it gets to Ms. Hermione Granger, it is a matter of great importance"

Inkie's overly large elf ears perked up, and she rushed forwards to take the letter, the small pink towel she was wearing fluttering violently with her sudden movement, "Inkie will go right away Master Malfoy, she will not let you down"

Barely containing a small smirk at the elf's exuberance, he handed her the letter, "Thank you Inkie"

"Yous very welcome sir" Inkie called before he apparated out of the room, the letter clutched tightly in her small hand.

Lucius didn't have to wait long, before one of his favorite owls, Aster, swooped in through the window he's left open, and deposited a small envelope on his desk. He opened it with care, pulling out a crisp piece of folded parchment, which smelled faintly of cinnamon and fresh apples.

_Mr. Malfoy, _

_Noon is fine, I'll meet you in front of Flourish and Blotts at noon, we can decide where to have lunch then. _

_Sincerely,_

_Hermione granger_

Well she had agreed to meet him, that was a start he supposed, but tomorrow will reveal how good of a start it truly was.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks everyone for reviewing, alerting, and just reading this story in general, but I want to give a special thanks/individual reply to everyone who reviewed, I Really appreciate it:) _

_Also before I forget, I'm still searching for a BETA, so if anyone's interested I'd love you forever and a day! 3_

_TheRoseandtheDagger: Thank you so much. It's always good to know that what I'm writing isn't letting you guys down _

_Krozz: Thank you for the review, and I figured it would be best to get the muggle-born thing out the way, so that I can delve deeper into the heart of his change later one without having to explain the bare basics _

_Lilo: I should be thanking you, its because of you that I continued, and I promise that she won't be doing any of that love-at-first-sight bs, Hermione is a very damaged girl, and Lucius is one of the causes, so have no fear it will be a slow and steady process. _

_Sweet-tang honey: Thank you for the review _

_DZAuthor AKA DZMom: I definitely love your ramblings, you have a lot of great ideas, and they inspire me to look at things from different angles, and have helped me out of a few tough spots Thanks for the review and I shall definitely try not to be gone for such an extended time again _

_Ann1981: Thank you, I love me some LM-HG pairings myself (go figure right :P) Hope I don't disappoint _

_Amaris12345: Thank you, both for the review and for pointing that out, I looked back and your right. I had meant it as more of a her work ethic was well known, and as a member of the golden trio her fame proceeded her, and brought a lot of attention to work she might not normally be recognized for. Hope that clears things up _

_You guys are the best, hopefully this chapter lives up to your expectations! _

_3 Fallen _

"Hermione, hurry up in there! You're going to be late if you don't get your arse out of that bathroom"

"Ginerva, I'm telling you for the last time, I can dress myself without your h-e-l-p" Hermione called back, frustration leaking into her voice, "I absolutely refuse to come out of this bathroom until you promise that you're not going to ambush me the second I step out"

"Hermione Granger! I swear on Merlin's grave that if you do not come out this instant I will break down this door and drag you out myself" Came Ginny's seething reply, "If I have to get pretty for Ferret face, you had better believe that you are going to move that pretty arse of yours out of that bathroom and into this bedroom, so that I can dress you! Or so help me Merlin…"

"Fine," Hermione huffed, pulling open the door, with a resounding whoosh, she hated that Ginny found it so easy to manipulate her, no matter how much she resisted, Ginny always won in the end, because well Ginny was Ginny. When she finally focused on her red-headed friend, she saw the dreaded Cheshire grin on her face, , and deftly attempted to slam the bathroom door close, only to find that it refused to budge.

"'Mione, did you really think that I was going to let you escape once I finally got you out of that bathroom?" Ginny asked her without a trace of pity in her voice, though she didn't wait for an answer, grabbing Hermione and tossing her onto her bed. "Now, you stay there, while I go search your closet for something date appropriate…"Ginny kept talking, but Hermione toned her out, resigning herself to her current situation, she just sat on the bed, waiting patiently for Ginny to finish her search.

"Hermione, have you heard a word I've said for the last ten minutes?" Ginny huffed, waving her hands in front of Hermione's face, "I mean honestly woman, I'm just trying to help you out, the least you could do is pretend to pay attention."

Hermione glared, "Ginny, I don't really consider you threatening me with bodily harm and forcing me to dress in a way that appeases you, without any regard to my feeling, help."

Ginny only smirked in reply, her brown eyes filled with mischief, "Well Hermione, sometimes a best friend has to do things she'd rather not to ensure that her girl doesn't make a fool of herself. Now, go put this on and then I'll get to work on your hair and make-up." Hermione stood up, taking the clothes Ginny held out, and walked into her bathroom to get dressed, sometimes you just got to know when to fight and when to surrender_. _

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror, and as much as she hated to admit it, Ginny had picked well, the light brown peacoat highlighted her slim figure, a honey colored cashmere scarf would keep her warm in the cool England spring, and the dark wash skinny jeans highlighted how slim her legs were. She knew Ginny would be taking her brown suede knee high boots to finish the look of, while she could have put the outfit together herself, she knew that Ginny truly enjoyed the rare occasion she was allowed to dress her once terribly unfashionable friend. With one last smile, she exited the bathroom, and with a small sigh glanced at a Ginny, who had the look of the cat-who-swallowed-the-canary.

"Alright, you did a good job, even I can't lie about that," Hermione told her with a small sigh, and a look that clearly told the red-headed spit fire not to let this victory get to her head.

"Well, now that we've settled that, let's get started on your hair and make-up" Ginny practically squealed, and once again Hermione just let her take the reins.

Finally, after half an hour of pure torture, Ginny proclaimed that she was finished, and allowed Hermione to glance at the mirror she had transfigured from Hermione's brush, "What do you think?"

Once more, Hermione found herself experiencing a rush of love for her red-headed friend, Ginny had pulled her hair up into a very sophisticated bun at the top of her head, and given her a quiet Smokey eye that brought out the golden flecks in her eyes, the finishing touch was lightly applied peach lip gloss. "Thank you Ginny, everything looks great," Hermione replied with a faint smile, turning around to hug her red-headed friend.

"Well, I'm glad you finally saw reason" Ginny replied lightly, gingerly returning her friend hug; it was a rare occasion that Hermione initiated any physical contact, so it was always returned with vigor. "Now, Hermione, as much as I hate to put an end to this, it's 11:53"

"Are you serious?" Hermione screeched, pulling away from Ginny, pulled on the suede boots that had been placed at her feet, and took the small purse Ginny held out for her. "I'll owl you when I get back, thanks again Ginny, I'll see you later" She called, grabbing her wand off the sink, and apparated to Diagon alley, she knew that Ginny would find her way out, and she refused to give Lucius any satisfaction by being late to their first meeting.

With a distinct pop, she landed on the cobble stone street in front of Florish and Blotts, taking a second to orient herself, before she walked into the small bookstore, relishing in the small chiming of the bell that announced to everyone inside that someone had just walked in, it reminded her of the first time she came in to get her books for Hogwarts. How long ago that time seemed, when she had just been a child, naïve to everything she would face upon entering this world, from dungeon trolls to the dark lord, the second she walked into Diagon Alley, there was no way she could turn back, even if she had known all the trials she would face, that one taste of magic was enough to seal her fate.

She might have continued her musing as she walked through the aisles of Florish and Blotts, but a cool aristocratic voice drew her out of her thoughts, "Ms. Granger, I suppose I should have known better then to wait outside in the cold, after all, how could you resist coming in?"

Hermione tensed, her hands flinching towards to wand, why people thought it was okay to sneak up on her, she would never understand, "I hope I didn't keep you out waiting for too long, Mr. Malfoy" She replied, unable to keep the cold edge out of her tone as she turned to stare at him.

She allowed herself a moment to study him, he was wearing black dress robe of the finest quality, the pure black robes standing in a direct contrast to his platinum blonde hair, which he had pulled back into a pony tail with a black silk ribbon, underneath his robes he wore tailored black dress pants, and a black cashmere sweater. When she finished examining him, her eyes met his, and she flushed, his icy blue eyes were staring straight through her, and it was clear that he had been looking her over as well.

"I didn't mind waiting Ms. Granger, but now that we're here, where would you like to go?" He asked, his cool draw sending shivers up her spine, it was amazing how little his voice had changed, she was half expecting pureblood propaganda to start pouring out of his mouth.

"I do have somewhere in mind, but it's in muggle London" She replied, the silent question hanging in the air between them, had he really changed and if so, how much?

Hermione watched Lucius face tighten with satisfaction, his lips puckered in distaste, but much to her chagrin, he visibly forced himself to relax, and he replied without any hesitation, "Lead the way Ms. Granger"

Her jaw dropped, "Are you serious?" she asked incredulously, narrowing her eyes at him, she wasn't stupid, clearly this was some kind of trick to make her believe that he had in some way, shape, or form changed since the war.

"Quite, Ms. Granger" He replied, and Hermione couldn't help the flash of anger she felt, it was clear to her what he was trying to do, and she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Fine, do you mind if we side-apparate?" She asked him, this time she knew she had there, he would never let a mud-blood touch him, he was too much of an bigot to let her sully his precious clothes with her filthy mudblood hands.

Once again, to her annoyance, he replied with a flippant, "Of course, it wouldn't make sense for me to do so, you have yet to inform me where we are going, aside from the fact that it's in muggle London" His crystal blue eyes, bore into hers and it was clear that he knew she was testing him.

With a huff, Hermione grabbed his arm, and with a quiet pop they landed in a small alley between two small brick buildings, "The restaurant is this way" she called, grabbing his arms to pull him out of the alley, and into the small diner that stood to the left of the entrance.

The small chime of the bell above the door announced their entrance to the portly old man behind the counter, who looked up with a grin, "Ms. Granger, how have you been lass? I haven't seen you since you was but a wee thing" The man called, wiping his hands off on his stained apron as he walked out from behind the counter to pull her into a hug, completely ignoring the indignant look Lucius was giving him, he didn't like this strange muggle touching his wife-to-be.

"Mr. Harrison, you can't even imagine how relieved I am to see that your still here" Hermione replied with a grin, pulling back from his comforting embrace, "Do you still serve my favorite?" she asked, hardly able to bite back the excitement bubbling in her belly, she had apparated to the Green dragon purely on instinct, and she could hardly believe it was still here.

With a rumbling laugh, Mr. Harrison turned to yell in the directions of the kitchen, "Robert, get me a grilled chicken panini with a cup of cheddar broccoli soup, and put a rush on it" The for the first time he seemed to notice Lucius, "Didn't see you there lad, I'm Mr. Harrison, I see you came here with my wee lass, what can I get'cha? Any friend of my girls is a friend of mine," He bellowed, stretching out his hand to Lucius, a friendly grin splayed across his lips.

Lucius stared at the man's hands for a second, suppressing a sneer, before placing his hand stiffly into his to allow for a _very_ brief handshake, "Nice to meet you Mr…" Lucius paused, "Harrison, I'll take whatever Ms. Grangers having"

Hermione watched the interaction, fighting to stifle her laughter, Malfoy senior looked like a deer in the head lights, which amused her to no end, never before had she seen him look anything other than poised and collected. After Mr. Harrison yelled to the kitchen to double everything, he gave her one last hug, and then reclaimed his spot behind the register, leaving Hermione to guide Malfoy to the battered booth by the window. When she sat down, Hermione took a deep breath, relishing the familiar smell of fried food, and grease that always lingered here when she was a child.

"Hope this is to your liking," Hermione asked in a very serious tone, though her dancing eyes gave away the fact that she was truly enjoying how at odds Malfoy senior seemed in this place.

"I find it quite interesting Ms. Granger, where did you find such a _delightful_ place?" He replied a small sneer crossing his face.

"I used to come here when I was younger, best sandwich and soup joint in a hundred miles" she bit back, her eyes hardening, she didn't like his tone nor the ignorant sneer that was now dominating his features.

"If you say so Ms. Granger, who am I to argue?" He replied his voice aloof and his features once more expressionless.

Hermione just rolled her eyes, and refused to reply, so they sat in silence, until Mr. Harrison came, bringing the mouth watering scent of soup and fresh bread with him, as he placed their food in front of them with a smile, and a wink before departing once more to the register.

"Thanks Mr. Harrison" Hermione called after him, a real smile flashing across her features as she waved to the old man, had she been paying attention she might have seen the glint of jealously that crossed Lucius's face as he watched her.

Without wasting another second, Hermione picked up her sandwich, and took a big bite, letting her eyes close and a small moan of appreciation escape while she enjoyed the delicious sandwich in her hands. When she opened her eyes, Lucius had begun to eat as well, and despite his best attempts to hide it, she could tell he was enjoying the meal. Neither one spoke for the duration of the meal, both of them too busy enjoying the food and decidedly ignoring each other.

"I take it you enjoyed the food?" Hermione asked, staring at the empty bowl of soup and the crumbs that occupied his plate.

"It was passable for a mu-" He stopped himself before he completely ruined his chances, and scrambled to correct himself, "for such an out of the way restaurant"

Hermione glared at him, "Are you sure didn't mean for muggle food? I mean there's no need to pretend Mr. Malfoy, it's quite clear how you feel, so please don't mind me, ignorance doesn't bother me anymore"

"Ms. Granger, I can assure you that I wasn't going to say any such thing and I find your assumptions rather offensive"

"You think I don't know you Mr. Malfoy? Do you really think you've fooled any of us? You are the same pureblooded git who allowed me to be tortured in your drawing room, and who since my arrival in the wizarding world has done nothing but make my friends and me miserable. Really, how do you live with yourself?" She asked, unable to stop the flow of words that escaped her mouth, but she wished she had, when she saw his eyes harden and his entire body tense.

"Ms. Granger, do not delude yourself by allowing yourself to believe you know any of my motives or reasoning's for behaving as I have in the past. I had thought you would allow me to show you that I had changed, possibly allow me the chance to get to know you but it seems that you are no better then who I was, a biased ignorant little girl who presumes to know everything about me. I believe I shall take my leave before you insult my person further," He replied, and without pause stood up and swept out of the diner, leaving Hermione to sit back in shock, how had it happened? Up until five minutes ago, they have been enjoying a quiet lunch together, albeit an awkward one but there hadn't been any blatant tension before then…

"Really, Ginny it's absolutely ridiculous; somehow he's made me into the bad guy, and I honestly feel terrible, when I have absolutely no reason too, he was the one who started it," She said, pacing in front of Ginny, who was sitting in the small loveseat in her living room, "I mean really, I didn't do anything wrong, right?" she asked, pausing to look at her friend for reassurance.

Ginny seemed uncomfortable under the heat of Hermione's gaze, "I don't know Hermione, I mean all we know about him is who he was before the war. He did correct himself before he even said sometimes awful, I'm sure it's hard to change everything you've been taught from the time you were born, it wasn't like you were expecting him to have turned into a saint…and he really did seem to be trying his best to behave properly…"She trailed off, watching Hermione, who had once again begun to pace across the living room.

"I don't know Ginny, I just can't believe that he's changed, how do I know that the minute we get married, he isn't going to turn into the monster he was?" Hermione asked, stopping in front of her friend once again, trying to hide how scared she was. "I don't want to marry him, I can't even look at him without thinking about all the things he did…" She paused, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill over, "he let Bellatrix torture me in his drawing room Ginny, how on earth can I ever trust him?" Her voice broke, and she slumped to the floor.

"Oh Hermione," Ginny said gently, pulling her friend into a tight hug, "You have to give him a chance, I know he did, and allowed terrible things to happen to you but war changes people you know that, maybe you need to give him the chance to prove whether he's changed or not" She whispered, rubbing Hermione back, letting the small girl cry into her shoulder, "I mean I'm marrying the great jolly ferret, so at least we'll be sisters-in-laws…I think" The red-head said, trying to insert some humor into the situation.

To her relief Hermione let out a wet laugh, "Where would I be without you Ginny?"

"I don't know, probably a lot better off" The red-head teased, lessening her grip on her friend, choosing to ignore how tiny the brunette felt in her arms.

"So true Ginny, is it too late for a refund?" Hermione teased back, pulling back to give her friend a watery grin, maybe things might not be so bad after all.

_Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review, all you have to do is go down and click that beautiful button and you'll make my day! _

_Next chapter, will reveal how Lucius reacts to the lunch fiasco and how he plans to prove to Hermione that he really is trying to change _

_Love, _

_Fallen _

_P.S. I love you guys, hope you'll be back for the next chapter! _


	4. Chapter 4 version 2

_To my lovely readers, _

_First I want to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter four, and to really apologize because a lot of you were right, it moved to fast and I lost the flow I had going on with the other chapters. When I wrote that chapter, I had just found out my parents were getting divorced, so I let that affect the way I wrote it, and I'm truly ashamed that I even posted that, it was really wasn't my best work. So, I hope you can accept my apology and that you like the rewritten version, because I really tried to stay true to my original concept for this story, and I'm just so sorry for how long it's taken me to update or even to acknowledge you guys. This last month has truly been one of the worst months of my life, near the end of January I found out my parents were splitting, and then two weeks ago my grandfather died. It's just been rough but today I realized this I need to stop wallowing in my grief, my grandpa lived a very full life, and he always loved my writing, which is part of the reason I rewrote this chapter, I just want him to be as proud of this story as I am. _

_Thank you for reading this and I just want you all to know how much I LOVE you all, you guys always brighten up my day (my faithful readers and reviews)! So I really hope you love this chapter and the many more that will hopefully follow!_

_With lots and lots of love, _

_Tempest _

Squaring her shoulders, Hermione walked through the wrought iron gate, attempting to steel herself against the dread creeping into her stomach. But as she walked up the path towards the impressive and imposing Manor rising up before her, she knew that it was a losing battle.

Though she did slow her pace to a walk in order to give herself the chance to take in the ground surrounding the Malfoy Manor, because unfortunately the last time she'd been here, there hadn't really been an opportune moment to take it all in. Everything from the perfectly manicured lawn, sculpted bushes and trees, down to the white peacocks strutting proudly across the lawn, spoke of the wealth the Malfoys possessed. It was truly an impressive sight; even the white stone path leading up to the Manor was surrounded by striking Gargoyles, their dark beauty adding to the underlying feeling of impurity that broke through the perfect façade presented by the exterior grounds of the Manor. It was almost tangible, the shadow that hung over the beautiful and serene gardens, illustrating just how much damage had been caused by the many evil deeds done here.

At first it struck Hermione as a rather odd idea, to think that a place might be scarred by the evil done there, but the more she thought about it the more sense it made. After all, how much darkness could be cast over some place before it leaves lingering shadows? But she had no time to linger on those thoughts, because she'd made it up the path and was now only a few feet away from the entrance to the Manor.

'_A place like this could never be a home to me' _She realized, walking up to the black metal doors. How could it? Even from the outside the Manor was cold, and she would never truly be free of all the memories she had within its walls.

Despite all that, she reached up to knock, trying to ignore the sweat gathering on her palms and the racing of her heart. Not for the first time, Hermione wondered how exactly she ended up here.

"_Hermione, time to get up," Ginny called from somewhere to her left, "You've been moping around for the last four days and it's time to get your lady-balls together love" _

_Hermione groaned in response, pulling her pillow over her head, trying to ignore the sunlight now flooding into the room. "Ginny, its barely eight o'clock in the morning," She paused emerging from under her pillow to glare at the annoyingly perky red-head, "On a bloody Saturday, what on earth could possibly be this important?" She asked leaving out her vexation over being awoken from the first hour of sleep she'd had without nightmares in weeks. _

_Ginny just laughed, her green eyes alight with hidden mirth, "Well if you'd come to the kitchen, you just might find out, I'm making you white chocolate pancakes, your absolute favorite, and I'm using Mom's old recipe" _

_Hermione glared suspiciously at her, "Just what exactly are you trying to butter me up for?" _

_Ginny just smiled, "Oh, it's nothing big, I promise," then almost as an afterthought she added, " I brought someone along with me, so hurry up and get ready" With that the chirpy red-head turned and skipped out the room, humming merrily as she went. _

_Hermione sighed, collapsing against the bed, "Time to get up I suppose" she mumbled to herself, tossing off her comforter and sliding out of bed. Hermione groaned stumbling into the bathroom so that she could get a shower in before she greeted whoever it was that Ginny had decided to bring along with her. She deftly turned on her shower, grabbed a towel from under her sink, tugged off her clothes, and threw herself into the shower. After all if Ginny was really making white-chocolate pancakes, then she didn't want to waste too much time showering because that would just mean it would be longer before she got to eat._

_Hermione bowed her head under the onslaught of scalding water, hoping it would wash away all the memories swimming around in her head. This had become her daily routine, getting up, sliding into a burning hot shower, trying to let the mind-numbing sensation fend off all the horrors she seen, but like always it was only a temporary reprieve. Even standing there under the water, letting it wash over her, she knew eventually she would have to deal with everything she'd seen but that didn't mean she had to do it right that very second. With that she stepped out, and slowly began to lather shampoo in her hair, taking the time to massage her scalp, relaxing under the familiar sensation. Leaning back into the water, she rinsed the suds out, letting the smell of her cinnamon apple shampoo tickle her nose. _

_Like clockwork, she reached out, grabbing her loofah, and squirted a little bit of her apple scented body wash onto it. Then began the systematic cleansing of her body, every inch of skin was scrubbed until it was red and raw, even then she felt dirty but there simply wasn't enough time for her to clean herself properly. If there really was someone with Ginny in the kitchen, then she was being rude leaving them there alone while they were guests in her flat. So with a resounding sigh, she shut off the water, and stepped out, drying off quickly. Wrapping herself up in her towel, she ran into her room and grabbed some clean clothes before returning once more to the bathroom. _

_Hermione glared at herself in the mirror, taking in her reflection, everything from the pallor of her skin to the deep purple bags that resembled bruises under her eyes spoke to how much the emotional trauma she'd suffered was affecting her. Even her slender figure was now leaning towards the emaciated side instead of the fit side slightly curvy side she usually found herself on. Yet, despite all this, Hermione had no idea what she was supposed to do to fix it, for once the brightest witch of the age was absolutely helpless, not just to help herself but to help everyone around her. It hurt so much to see them walking around so broken, damaged by all the horrors they'd witnessed in the war, it was like a walking nightmare she just couldn't escape. Every day it grew harder and harder to put on her brave face, and pretend everything was okay, to be the strong one that everyone could depend on. Who was going to be the strong one for her? Why couldn't anyone see that she was drowning right along with them? _

_Just this morning, she came closer than she believed possible to someone seeing just how messed up she was, thankfully Ginny was too distracted to see how haggard she looked under the very careful disillusion and concealment charms she wore each day. But still, she might not get so lucky next time one of her friends popped in unannounced, maybe she could just change the wards so they couldn't apparate in? But that would only make them suspicious, as she had always had an open door policy with them, and a sudden change would do nothing to alleviate the possibility of her secrets being uncovered. _

"_Hermione are you almost ready? Cause there's only three minutes till breakfast," Ginny called, her voice breaking her train of thought. _

"_Yep, I'll be out in a minute," she called back, wandlessly casting her modified disillusion charms, and a drying spell for her hair. Then she pulled her unruly mane into a clean ballerina bun at the back of her neck, and started to get dressed. _

_When she was all done, she glanced back at the mirror and smiled, she looked much better, the modified charms she used to conceal her unhealthy appearance, brought life back to her cheeks and made the shadows under her eyes disappear. The freshly pressed white oxford button up under a stylishly baggy black and white polka dotted jumper polished her off, and the black skinny jeans she wore completed the outfit. _

_With one last glance, she opened the bathroom door, and casually walked out. She let the delicious smell of home-made pancakes and sizzling bacon guide her to the kitchen, opening her mouth to tell Ginny just how wonderful it smelled, when the words literally died on her lips. _

"_Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that I brought Malfoy over with me," Ginny said turning from her spot at the stove to smile innocently at her. _

"_Yeah, I guessed it just conveniently slipped your mind, huh?" Hermione asked dubiously, regaining her voice. It wasn't that she bore any bad blood towards Draco Malfoy anymore, but it was rather unsettling to find him sitting at her kitchen table, studying her carefully as she stared at him. _

"_Hey Granger, long time no see," He drawled after a few seconds of staring, sounding eerily like his father, but thankfully there was no hint of the malice he once held for her. _

_Trying her luck, Hermione replied with a small smile, "Won't be Granger for long Malfoy, I think it might be time for a new nickname" _

_To her surprise, he just laughed, "You're probably right, but" he paused for a second to glance at Ginny, "Don't expect me to call you mum" _

_Hermione paled at the thought, "Oh gods no, that just sounds so wrong coming from you, please, just call me Hermione," She practically pleaded, just the idea of Malfoy calling her Mum was enough to send her packing. _

"_You know what Gra-Hermione, I think I just might be able to do that, but only if you'll consider calling me Draco?" _

"_Well seeing as you're marrying my best friend, I think I can handle that" She replied with a genuine smile, never in a million years would she have dreamed that she would be standing in her kitchen having a pleasant conversation with Draco Malfoy, her soon to be step-son, while Ginny cooked them breakfast. Really it was worthy of a twilight zone episode! _

"_Much as I hate to break-up this touching make-up session, I'm starving, so I say we eat before the food gets cold," Ginny interrupted with a easy grin, setting plates down on the table, as she sat down, and beckoned for Hermione to join them, she didn't have to ask twice. _

_A companionable silence hung over them while they ate, though Hermione just picked at her food after a bite or two, and a good ten minutes into the meal, she looked up at the two of them, and asked, "So, not to be rude but why are you two here exactly?" _

_Her eye-brow raised as she watched the two exchange glances, then together turn to look at her, "Well Mione, it goes like this, Draco and I were meeting each other for lunch, and we were just talking about how everyone we knew was taking the whole situation, when the topic of you and MR. Malfoy came up," She paused looking expectantly at Draco. _

"_As Ginny was saying, we started to talk about what was going on between the two of you, and how if someone didn't do something it didn't seem likely that you two would speak to each other before the wedding. So, after careful deliberation we came up with a fool-proof plan to help you two fix what happened." Draco finished, letting everything he'd just said hang in the air for a little while. _

"_Wait," Hermione said bringing her hands up to massage her temples, "First off, Draco I thought you and your father were no longer speaking, so how did you even know about what was going on?" _

"_Well, a week after I heard about the marriage law, and my upcoming nuptials with Ginny, I contacted my father because despite everything between us, I knew he would at least listen to me and attempt to help me wade through the various problems this whole situation was causing" With an uncomfortable sigh, he continued, "Please don't think I suddenly just woke up and forgave him for everything he's put me through and all the mistakes he's mad. Believe me; we still have a lot of things we need to work on. I just came to the realization that all the resentment I've been carrying around all these years, well quite frankly its killing me G-Hermione, and I know it might take a while but I need to find a way to forgive him. If I don't, I just can't see how I can be successful in the future, if I'm always letting the past rule my life, you know?" _

"_I understand completely," Hermione replied, and she really did, "So, what exactly is this plan?" She asked, trying to move away from a topic, that was clearly still a little uncomfortable for Malfoy to discuss, especially with someone who had until recently been one of his worst enemies._

_Without a pause, the two of them outlined their plan to her, and it was surprisingly simple, but the simplicity of it gave it the ease to potentially work. They were going to have Draco apparate her to the Gates of the Manor, so that she could get in without triggering the wards, and then she would head up to the Manor, and have one of the house elf's let her in. Now, this was where the plan got a little bit hazy, because somehow between the time she got into the Manor, and the time she left, she had to locate Lucius. Which was a rather daunting task, considering just how big the Manor was, let alone that he probably wasn't too inclined to talk to her after the way she'd behaved during their last meeting, but hopefully he take her efforts to seek him out, as a sign of her sincere wish to apologize. _

_Still, Hermione voiced her concerns, but after about an hour going over the plan with her fellow conspirators, she finally gave in and agreed to go through with it. Though she wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that Draco would be taking her to the gates of the Manor in a little under twenty minutes, as it gave her absolutely no time to prepare herself for the possibility of flashbacks or getting lost in the not so muggleborn friendly Manor or even just the distinct possibility of Lucius not even wanting to speak with her._

Though looking back that was probably the point, because if she'd really given herself too much time to think about it, the likelihood of her ever making it here, to the front door of the Manor, was about as likely as hell freezing over, pigs flying and Lord Voldemort proclaiming his everlasting love for muggle-borns all on the same day. Regardless, it was time, so gathering all her resolve, Hermione wiped her palms on her jeans, and reached up to knock on the iron door before her. Hardly a second had gone by, before the door creaked open, to reveal a tiny female house-elf, wearing a clean pink towel around her in a fashion similar to that of a toga.

"Hello Missie, What can Inkie dos for you today?"

Hermione found she was unable to contain the grin that broke out across her face, "Hello Inkie, my name is Hermione Granger, and I was hoping to see Mr. Malfoy, do you know if he's in?" She asked kindly, the elf reminded her so much of dobby, that it was hard to decide whether she wanted to hug her or cry at the loss of the beloved house elf.

"Oooh, you is to be Masters new Missus" Inkie cried, her high pitched voice raising in excitedly, reaching out she grabbed Hermione's hand, and let her inside, "Come along Missus, Inkie will takes you to Master Malfoy right away"

Hermione tried to smile, but suddenly she took in exactly where she was, this was where the snatchers had taken her and the boys when they first presented them to the Malfoy's. The memories seemed so real in the moment, that she could almost feel their hands on her again, cool and uncaring against her skin, and she could smell the rank stench of their breath from behind her.

"Missus, are you alright?" Inkie's shrill voice called from a distance, worry laced into her tone, "Do you need for Inkie to get Master for yous?"

Hermione shook her head, trying to dispel the memories, throwing Inkie a shaky grin, and withdrawing her hand from the elf's fingers in an attempt to hide how hard they were shaking. It was strange, she could have sworn the elf had been calling from across the room, but it must have been a delusion.

"I'm fine Inkie, I promise, just a little shaken that's all" But even as she spoke, she knew the word were a lie, she had grown pale under her charms, and it was almost impossible for her to contain the violent shaking of her body, allowing instead for her hands to shake as she clenched them together.

Inkie looked doubtful, but still she smiled, "If missus says so, now follow Inkie and she'll take you straight to Master's study"

Hermione nodded in reply, unable to articulate anything; instead she just forced herself to follow the small elf deeper into the Manor. Each step was like a marathon, and she was slowly developing tunnel vision, focusing all her attention on Inkie's back, forcing herself to ignore the memories dredged up by her surroundings.

Just when she thought she might actually be able to make it through the Manor without being completely overtaken by her memories, she just happened to glance to her left, and she found herself looking straight into the drawing room where she'd been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. She stood there frozen, staring straight into the heart of one of her most frequent nightmares.

"_Where did you get this sword? Where?" Bellatrix screamed, her face twisted into a terrifying mask of fury and pure loathing. _

"_We found it-We found it-PLEASE" Hermione pleaded, but Bellatrixs only reply was a shout of "Crucio" and after that she only knew the red-hot agony of every nerve ending being set on fire within her body. It was truly the most excruciating experience one could ever imagine, and in that moment she thought it would never stop. _

_To her relief Bellatrix let-up the spell, but only so that she could demand more answers, "You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell me the truth, tell the truth!" _

_It was useless, nothing she said placated Bellatrix, and once again she found herself drowning in red-hot agony. In those moments, she wished Bellatrix would just kill her, anything to end the pain she was being forced to endure, anything. Even when it eased for a second, and she tried again to answer Bellatrix's questions, it felt like there was only seconds between her next submersion into the undeniable agony of the cruciatious curse. _

"_What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO" _

That was the last thing Hermione remembered before blackness overtook her vision and she fainted, Inkie just barely catching her in time to prevent her from hitting the marble floor of the hallway.

Inkie apparated the two of them directly into her Masters study, placing the missus gently on the floor before turning to face her startled Master.

"Inkie, what is going on?" Lucius demanded, taking in the sight of his fiancé, Hermione Granger unconscious on the Persian carpet in front of his desk.

"Master, missus came to the door, and said she was wanting to sees you, so Inkie took her inside, and we was on our way when missus just froze in front of the drawing room. Next thing Inkie knows, missus fainted, and Inkie just barely catched her"

Lucius stood as quickly as he could, and moved to Ms. Granger's side, he had a faint idea as to why she fainted. Not that it really matter at the moment, all he needed to know was the best possible way to get her from the floor to someplace more appropriate for her to be resting. After a second of deliberation, he bent down, and picked her up bridal style. He almost dropped her, not because she was heavy but because he had been expecting her to weight at least as much as Narcissa. But it appeared she wouldn't weight a hundred pounds soaking wet.

Inkie trailed after him, as he left his study, carrying her across the hall and into his bedroom, where he carefully set her down on his bed. "Inkie, please make sure Ms. Granger is comfortable while I retrieve a chair for myself to sit in, thank you" He whispered, hoping not to wake Ms. Granger, but Inkie was already at work, carefully maneuvering Ms. Granger under the covers, and apparating away to retrieve some water, and a wet towel. Meanwhile, he walked back into his office to retrieve one of his plush leather chairs, so that he might sit and wait comfortably for her to awaken. Somehow, he had an idea that this whole thing was going to amount to a very interesting story.

_Alright, my lovely readers, this is where I leave you, though you should know that I'm already about half-way done with chapter five, and it should be up in the next few days! Hopefully this chapter was an improvement from the last chapter, and I hope you guys know just how much I appreciate you reading and reviewing! _

_Also if anyone is interested in Betaing this fic, I would really appreciate it, because I'm in desperate need of some help editing! _

_Love, _

_Tempest _

_P.S. I'm always open for idea from my readers, and I wanted to give a super-special shout out to DZAuthor AKA DZMom, as always she inspires me and I would love for you all to hit me up if you have any concerns or just an idea you might like to see in my fic. Really, even if I don't use the exact idea, it might inspire a whole new idea for the fic, so please feel free to share, I absolutely love getting feedback from you guys! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello my most faithful readers, _

_First, I __w__anted to thank everyone for understanding what I'm going through right now, and to apologize. (I feel like I always end up apologizing to you guys for being such a crappy updates.) Things have just been so messed up lately…it's been really hard to get my creative juices going. Hope you all can forgive me, again! Also in case you didn't read the last chapter, the big thing going on right now is that my parents are getting divorced and my grandfather passed away a few weeks ago, so I've been totally haywire…so please know this fic is not being abandoned it is still alive!_

_Second off, just in case anyone wasn't aware, __**I posted a MAJOR edit of the last chapter **__about four weeks ago. So if you haven't read it, I would recommend it or you're going to be totally lost when it comes to this chapter. _

_Finally, I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. As usual, you guys make my day, and you all are the reason I keep trying to write even when I feel like nothing is going the way I want it to. Thank you all so much. It means the world to me to have such faithful readers! _

_Hot for Jerry Way: Thank you so much. That is a true compliment-hope this next chapter is to your liking. _

_Lilo: As one of my most faithful readers, your opinion means a lot but I just wanted you to know that Lucius has been behaving that way since the war ended- not because he's a baby but because he feels isolated from the rest of the wizarding world. Every time he goes out he's verbally attacked by a large majority of the population, who don't believe he should have escaped Azkaban. Also, he just didn't want to send her the owl first because he was wanted her to have time to cool off. As for Hermione, she feels bad because she did exactly what Lucius and his type did to her before the war: she judged him on pre-existing prejudices she had without actually taking the time to get to know him. Hopefully this explains it a little better for you _

_Smithback: Thank you _

_Lillyofthevalley: That means so much. I'm so glad you like my story that much. That is probably one of the best compliments I could possibly receive. Thank you! Hopefully you'll keep loving this story! Also I'll really try to post more frequently. I totally understand how it feels to be waiting for the next chapter of the story you are into at the moment. _

_Readergirl828: Hopefully this story lives up to your expectations. I really appreciate the review and I hope you review again. _

_AreYouSirius-questionmark: Thank you so much! I really appreciate both the review and the offer to Beta. You literally made my day with this review. I really hope you decide to review again._

_I love you guys so much, and I really hope you all keep reading and reviewing (or just reading either one makes me the happiest girl out there). _

Lucius sat in his plush leather chair, thumbing through his first edition copy of Hogwarts: A History, calming down due to the familiar smell of parchment and the musty odor that accompanied the older tomes in his library. Despite how relaxed he appeared on the outside, the appearance of an unconscious Hermione unsettled him more than he would care to admit. Though he was wishing the woman would wake up, so that he could request some answers from her, because she had left him with quite a few questions.

Just as the thought drifted into his head, he heard whimpering coming from the bed, so he closed the book and glanced at the small woman in his bed. It was quite clear to him that she was having a nightmare. The way her face kept scrunching up in agitation every few minutes and the restless movements she was making screamed distress.

He watched her, almost as if he was in a trance, unconsciously wringing his hands. With every passing minute she grew more and more anxious, her movements becoming more violent and her whimpering turning into quiet yelps. Finally when Hermione began to voice her distress in mumbled phrases and growing volume, he stood up, moving towards the bed.

"Ms. Granger, you need to wake up," He called, standing right besides the bed, looking down at the woman, who was swallowed up whole by the silk sheets covering his bed.

"Ms. Granger?" he asked, leaning closer to her, noting the sweat beginning to gather on her forehead, and the faint smell of fear rising from her.

"Please, please! I didn't take it, I swear!" the girl screamed. Her eyes were still closed tightly, though small droplets began to fall from the corners of her eyes, flowing down her cheeks and landing with soft "plashes" in her hair.

"Ms. Granger, please, you need to wake up," Lucius called again, much louder than he had before and he was starting to get worried. Cissa has always dealt with Draco's nightmares, so he had never actually seen someone else having one. This wasn't an experience he ever wished to repeat.

"STOP, please, please," the girl was begging, tears falling more frequently, and then she began to scream. Her body was shaking so hard, Lucius was convinced she was having a seizure.

Lucius lowered himself onto the bed and pulled Hermione into his arms. "Hermione, calm down—" He never got the chance to finish what he was saying because she began to struggle violently in his arms.

Her eyes were staring straight into his, but they were glazed over, the terror clear on her face. "Please. Please, don't. I'm sorry. Please just stop." She was crying so hard, Lucius almost couldn't understand her but he didn't let her go, only pulled her closer to him, rocking them back and forth.

"Hermione, it's okay. No one's going to hurt you," he reassured, holding her firmly in his arms as she continued to struggle.

How long they sat like that, with him whispering into her ears, he would never know for sure, but eventually she stopped fighting and relaxed into his arms. She never stopped crying, but he was just grateful that she'd finally stopped struggling.

Lucius rubbed her back gently, her sobs were beginning to turn into sniffles, but she didn't attempt to escape his grasp. So he held her, letting her slowly regain her composure, until even her sniffles had dissolved into the occasional hiccup.

"I'm sorry about that," Hermione said tentatively between hiccups, pulling back until Lucius let her go. "I-I-I just…" She trailed off, glancing at the wall behind Lucius.

"Ms. Granger—"

"Please, call me Hermione; I think it's appropriate after all this."

Lucius hesitated for a moment, searching her face for any hint of sign of reluctance, "Ms-Hermione, you have nothing to apologize for. Everyone is plagued by the war, and no matter how strong a person is, they can't escape it," he replied, scooting back a little to allow her more space to breathe.

"Still, this wasn't exactly how I planned for this whole thing to go," Hermione mumbled, unsure of how to proceed. This had changed things between them somehow, and it was making her uncomfortable,. "Though I suppose no one really plans for things like this to happen." A small blush began to spread across her cheeks, despite this Hermione held his eye firmly, trying to gauge his response.

"I don't imagine they do." He paused. "How did you imagine this evening would go, Ms-Hermione?"

"Well, for one, I wouldn't have fainted." Hermione paused, running her hands along the soft silky sheets. "I was coming to apologize, as I imagine you've gathered from my presence."

"After the coffee shop, I can't imagine you coming over for a cup of tea," he muttered under his breath, before he regained himself, "Yes, well, I couldn't imagine that this was a social call," he drawled back, gesturing for her to continue.

"So, well, I suppose that I imagined I would apologize for my behavior at the coffee shop. I'm absolutely appalled with the way I behaved, and I hope we can move past that?" Hermione sighed. She opened her mouth to continue but she found herself unable to formulate the proper words. Instead she sat there for a few seconds, mouth agape, until she regained her ability to speak proper English, "A-a-and well, I thought we might start over again-maybe, we might, possibly have a real conversation instead of tip-toeing around all of this."

"I think that can be arranged, Hermione, but first, would you like to share what your nightmare was about?" Lucius asked, trying to keep his voice level. He already had some idea, but he wanted to confirm his suspicions. If it was what he thought it was, then it would appear that his sister-in-law did the girl more harm than they had believed.

Hermione stiffened, her gaze now resting firmly on the beautiful forest green and gold comforter she was laying under.

"Ms. Granger, don't push yourself," Lucius said carefully, pushing a stray curl away from her face, "I understand why you might be hesitant to speak to someone, especially me, about it."

"It's not that. Even if I was, seeing as within the next few months we will be wed, I would hope we would be able to open up to each other. It's just- I've never told anyone about the nightmares, and I hate that you found out this way," Hermione replied, her eyes still glued to the comforter. Her voice came out so small that it was almost a whisper.

Lucius leaned in, "Hermione, look at me," he replied, his fingers coming up under her chin, and gently pushing up until she looked him in the eyes. "It is like I said before. I would be in no place to judge you. We all have our burdens to bear from the war."

Hermione nodded, trying to ignore how warm his fingers were against her skin, and the smell of parchment and fine cologne that tickled her nose. "Thank you." She paused for a second to gather herself. "I was dreaming about the night in your drawing room with Bellatrix…she was torturing me again, but this time it was indescribable. Every spell she cast felt as if it was powered by a hate so powerful, it literally burned me, and there was nothing I could do. The more I begged, the worse she became. I felt so helpless…" She trailed off, her eyes flickering down once more, unable to maintain eye contact.

"I wish I could say I was surprised, but my former sister-in-law seems to have that effect on people," he replied. "I'm not sure what I can do," He stood up, his fingers brushing the cover of his discarded book, "but I imagine you don't wish to dwell on this topic. Why don't we take this conversation into the study? It would be far more comfortable I assure you. We can discuss the details of our coming nuptials if you'd like," Lucius offered, though it came out more like a question. He was surprised by how gentle he was being. If she had been Cissa, he would never have behaved like this, but for some reason the Granger girl was bringing out his tender side.

"Thank you. I would like that," Hermione replied, relieved to have the topic pushed under the rug for the moment. She was perfectly content to ignore everything that was being bottled up inside of her, for as long as possible, but it would come up again. She was sure of it. Lucius didn't seem like the type to forget about something this distressing, even though he was offering her a temporary "get out of jail free" card.

"Well, then, follow me, please," Lucius drawled, offering a hand to Hermione, which she took, allowing him to pull her up from the bed.

"Thank you."

Lucius didn't reply. He simply nodded his acknowledgement and turned to lead her out of the bedroom, across the desolate hall and into his study. He took a deep breath when they walked in, taking in the faint smell of fire whiskey, parchment, fresh ink, and the lemon oil Inkie used to clean the floors. By far his study was his favorite room in the entire manor, aside from his bedroom.

Hermione had walked behind him, scrambling to keep up with his long strides. Her height was the bane of her existence. It rarely ever did anything but trouble her. After they had crossed into the office, she watched silently as Lucius seemed to completely transform in front of her eyes into a much more relaxed version of himself.

"Shall we?" he asked, interrupting her train of thought, and gesturing for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk, while he sat down in the chair behind it.

"No better time than the present," she replied, attempting to squash her anxiety.

"Well, is there anything in particular you wish to discuss first?"

Hermione maneuvered herself into her chair, letting out a small sigh as her weary body rested against the welcoming chair. "Well, I think we need to discuss the matter of living arrangements as soon as possible, considering we won't have much time between now and our wedding to figure out all the problems that come with living together."

Lucius nodded. "That sounds reasonable, I wish I could say that I wished for us to live here in the Manor," He barely contained his smirk when he noticed Hermione's discomfort at the mention of living in the Manor, "Allow me to explain before you decide anything Ms. Granger. As I was saying, if I was being honest with myself, this place…is no longer what it once was. I have no desire to raise any children here."

Hermione stared openly, relief clear in her eyes. "I wish I could say that I wasn't relieved, but I bear no good will to this place. I, myself, wouldn't want to raise our children here. It just seems so…" She paused, trying to come up with the right word.

"Cold?" Lucius asked, effectively finishing her sentence for her.

"Precisely. Thank you," Hermione replied, startled by his not-unwelcomed intrusion. "I would volunteer my flat-" she had become rather attached to it since the war, "but I already know that it's much too small for the two of us, let alone any children."

"If you'd like, I could arrange for a friend of mine to take us around to view available properties."

"That would be lovely." Hermione couldn't even hide the surprise in her voice. She had never imagined that Lucius might actually be considerate under all the hate he had held previously. It was a little unnerving, how considerate he had been being recently, as well as now. Admittedly, it was going to take her a long time to trust the man sitting in front of her, but for the first time since she'd heard the news, she felt hope blossoming in her heart. Hope that they might actually have a chance at a happily ever after, and that she might not have to spend the rest of her life miserable.

"I'll owl him as soon as you leave, but I do need to know is there anything in particular you'd be interested in looking at?" he asked, his stormy grey eyes ensnaring her in their depths. "As for me, I was hoping for a place with large grounds, that still has neighbors within shouting distance." He had always hated how isolated the Manor was.

"That sounds reasonable. I would hope for some place with a big master suite, and plenty of rooms that we could decorate. I wouldn't want anything with more than four floors-but no less than two and I don't really have any preferences in regards to the neighborhood being purely wizards or Muggle. Though, I would prefer to have at least one Muggle town or village somewhere nearby. I want my children to be exposed to everything I experienced when I grew up."

"I believe I could work with that." Maybe if he'd been exposed to Muggles without the taint of his parents' prejudice, he might have turned out differently, and in turn he might have raised Draco the right way. "I think we should try for a neighborhood situation within walking distance of a Muggle town or residences."

Hermione smiled at him, though she noticed the hint of hesitation in his eyes. "Are you sure? We don't have to be quite so close if it makes you uncomfortable."

Lucius stared down at his desk, summoning a small tumbler and some firewhiskey. "Would you care for a glass?" he asked. He let out a sigh when she refused."Hermione, I need you to understand that my hesitation comes not from any lingering ill-will to Muggles or Muggleborns but from the fact that I've never even been to the Muggle world except for raids made during my time as a Death Eater. This is new to me, and I'm not sure how to handle something I've never experienced before."

He poured himself a half glass of Firewhiskey then returned his attention to her. "I'm trying my best, but change has never been something that has come easily to me. Please believe that I am trying, but there will be times when I am less than understanding."

Hermione just nodded, unsure how she should respond to him, her former enemy, giving her a serious glimpse of who he truly was. "Thank you for telling me. I will do my best to be understanding of your situation, because I know what it's like to be thrust into a world totally different from the one you know. If you'd like, I would gladly take you out to Muggle London sometime to give you a taste of everything."

Lucius smiled-actually smiled at her. "I think I would appreciate that." The Muggles wouldn't know who he was or what he'd done. He might actually get the chance to enjoy a day without judgment. "At least I'll have a knowledgeable tour guide."

"Well, they don't call me the brightest witch of her age for nothing," Hermione said with a small smile, though she sobered up quickly. "Now that we've at least agreed to search for a place to settle down in, I think we should talk about children and the financial aspect of our marriage."

"That sounds reasonable. Which would you like to discuss first?" he asked, taking a small sip of Firewhiskey.

"I think children might be the bigger issue at the moment. I know you already have an hair apparent, and I wouldn't want Draco to feel that my children are going to threaten his claim to the Malfoy legacy." She gazed at him, drinking in his calm appearance before she continued, "Though I must ask how you feel about children in general, because I-well, I want at least two, preferably a boy and a girl." Hermione finished with a small, awkward laugh, glad that she'd managed to stop herself from rambling.

Lucius stared at her for a few minutes, letting the silence stretch between them before he replied, "Yes, at the moment Draco is my heir apparent, but if we have any children, I don't want you to think that they will be cheated of any sort of inheritance-"

"Lucius don't think that's the reason I brought it up. I'm sure anything set aside after we marry will be plenty for my children. I don't want them to become trust fund babies," Hermione interrupted hastily. She was not going to let her future husband have the misconception that she expected him to take care of her or her children financially.

"Ms. Granger, believe it or not, I know enough about you to know that wealth is not something that concerns you. I merely brought it up because I want you to know that I take care of my own, and one of the ways I do that is by supporting them financially." _In fact sometimes it's the only way I support them_. He left that thought unsaid. "As for having children in general, I would like another chance at parenting, but I think having two children together is plenty. I wouldn't complain if we were to have more, but two is a safe number to me."

"Well, I'm glad we agree on that," Hermione replied, choosing not to reply to everything else he had said-not to slight him, but simply because she didn't know quite how to respond. Yes, she was grateful that he wasn't going to ignore her children, as she feared he might, but it was still uncomfortable for her to think of someone supporting her or her children in such a manner. She had been raised with parents who gave her money if she needed it, but she was always expected to work hard in school and to earn the money she was given outside of school.

"Now, you also mentioned finances. What, specifically, would you like to know?"

"The biggest thing would be that I intend to keep working after we marry-" Hermione paused, and for the third time that evening, she found herself searching for the words she needed."Because I don't want you to think I'm reliant on your money to support myself. Also, I love what I do, and I truly couldn't see myself being content as a stay-at-home anything."

"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Lucius drawled, that annoying trademark smirk of his smeared across his face.

Flustered, Hermione forced herself to ignore just how attractive she found that smirk. She brushed the stray curls away from her face, and brushed under her eyes to make sure she hadn't ruined her make-up earlier. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped, blushing a deep red, and took a breath before continuing where she'd left off. "Also, I wanted to talk about whether you wish to have a joint account, separate accounts or both a joint account and separate accounts for our income?"

"I have no objection to having a joint account, but regardless of what you decide, you will have unlimited access to the Malfoy vaults and everything in them. Just one of the perks of being a Malfoy," he finished, still smirking, though he had the decency to at least pretend he wasn't aware of how flustered she was becoming. Money had never really been a comfortable topic for her.

"I think a joint account would be best, but-" Hermione sighed, fixing him with her best 'I'm extremely confident' stare. All the while trying to smother the image of the things they could do in his private vaults out of her head. She continued after taking a second to compose herself, "How much money is tied to the Malfoy name exactly?" God, she hated asking about money, but it was something she needed to know if she was going to marry the man.

"Well, I believe it would be safe to say the Malfoy vaults are worth about five hundred million galleons in coins, various treasures such as jewels and heirlooms, along with other miscellaneous items. Then there are the various companies, food-chains and businesses we are invested in, which brings in a rather steady income that is placed into separate vaults. Though I'm not entirely sure how much is in those, but going by my last calculation, the net worth is around one billion galleons, give or take a few hundred thousand."

He paused, shooting her a glance. "Are we including property in this as well?" he asked, completely unaware of how weird it sounded to Hermione.

"Sure, why not?" Hermione replied, trying to keep the sarcastic bite from her tone, not that Lucius noticed anyway.

"Well, we have beach-front properties in Italy, Spain, and Greece, as well as vacation homes in France, Germany, and Scotland; we also have two small properties in the Virgin Isles and Louisiana."

"Are you serious?" Hermione asked, staring at him, waiting for him to let her in on the joke, but by the way he was looking at her, he wasn't kidding. "That's absolutely ridiculous. What do you even do with all that stuff?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Ms. Granger." He appeared to be deciding between his annoyingly attractive smirk, and a look of complete and utter amusement. "I don't really see how it's ridiculous."

"Please, its Hermione," she replied exasperatedly. "I'm sorry if I sound a little crazy, but that is a ridiculous amount of wealth. I mean, I'm very well off by Muggle standards, but that's just-wow."

"I understand Hermione, but you did ask, so I answered truthfully," he replied, taking another small sip of whiskey.

"I have to ask this. Do you really own beach from properties in Italy and Greece?" She asked, leaning forward in her chair, her eyes a light with anticipation.

"Yes." Lucius paused, discreetly giving her the once over, "Why, would you like to visit?"

"Actually, I would love to," Hermione replied with a nervous laugh. "I feel a little silly admitting this. My parents take me to different places around the world every summer. They've always promised to take me to see the ruins in Athens and Rome. Yet it just never happened. If you wouldn't mind, maybe we could go sometime." She hated how nervous she sounded. They were going to be married, for Merlin's sake. It wasn't unreasonable for her to ask such a thing.

"I think that could be arranged." He paused, contemplating something for a second. "Hermione, have you given any thought to our honeymoon?"

Hermione blinked up at him, blushing like a tomato. "No, I haven't given it any thought, but either of those countries would be lovely."

Lucius scrutinized her for a few moments. "Hermione, I need to know. Are you a virgin?"

Her furious blush and her refusal to meet his questioning gaze were answer enough for him. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, but I do need to know how far you've gone. It will help me to know how I should behave in such an event." Clearly this wasn't the most comfortable conversation for him, either, but he didn't have any qualms asking because they couldn't beat around the bush with this sort of thing.

"Well, in truth, not as far as most girls my age," she replied, blushing a shade darker. "Mainly snogging and the occasional bit of fooling around, but nothing outside of that, really."

Lucius nodded, reaching across the desk to take one of her hands. "Hermione, I know this isn't the most comfortable topic, but I want you to know that I will try my best to ensure that you enjoy yourself. No one should have an unpleasant or forced first time. Given our circumstances, I will try my hardest to make this into something pleasurable."

Hermione nodded, resisting the urge to question him about just how 'hard' he was going to try, instead choosing to let her hand nestle against his huge palms. "Thank you. I wouldn't ask anything more of you, and I, too, will try to ensure that you enjoy it as well."

Lucius gave her a small smile, taking her small hand more firmly into his, his skin like warm velvet against hers. "I'm sure it will work itself out in the end."

After that they continued talking until Hermione looked outside and noticed the sun reaching down to caress the horizon, the face of the sun a light with warmth. "Lucius, I hate to say this, but I think I best be going. I have work tomorrow morning, considering I've been here since breakfast, I missed my usual nap and I need to get some sleep."

"I understand. Being tired on the job is always undesirable," Lucius replied, standing up and offering to escort her to her home.

To her surprise she allowed him to do so. After navigating the maze they called the manor, Lucius led her outside, and she side-apparated with him to the door of her flat. "Well, this is it. Thank you for such a wonderful evening. Could we do this again? Hopefully this time without a repeat of this morning's fiasco. do this again?" She let the question hang between them, not making a move towards her door.

Lucius gave her that delectable smirk of his, taking her hand and raising it to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on each of her palms. "Of course. I'll send you an owl. Though I intend to let Inkie know about your issue, so that she won't take you that route again."

"Don't punish her on account of me, she couldn't have known what might happen-" Hermione replied quickly. The feel of Lucius finger against her lips quieted the rest of her statement.

"Don't worry Hermione, I no longer treat my house elves in such a manner" He withdrew his finger, letting is slide across her lips. With that curst smirk of his he was gone, leaving a spell-struck Hermione Granger in his wake, a blush slowly spreading across her cheeks.

Alright kiddies,

That's all I've got for today, but I hope the length makes up for how long this update has taken. Please review. I always appreciate it and it just makes me love you guys ten times more than I already do!

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, I welcome private messages if you don't feel comfortable reviewing. Thank you

Love,

Fallen


	6. Chapter 6 part one

Hello my lovely readers and reviewers,

I just wanted to let everyone know that I really appreciate those of you who review, and it really makes me smile, getting to read everything you all say! So if you enjoy the chapter, please feel free to let me know!

Secondly, and probably most importantly, I wanted to give a HUGE shout out to the best Beta in the entire world, the lovely "DZAuthor AKA DZMom". She is truly the best thing that's happened to me in, well, Ever! I just wanted to thank her big time for taking my story and I under her wing and turning it from Good to Great! Please, feel free to check her out, because she's truly a wonderful gal from what I can tell!

Lots of love,

Fallen

Hermione bustled out of her office, shouting a quick, "See you tomorrow!" to the people still lingering in their offices.

A chorus of "Goodbye Hermione" and the rare "Good day, Ms. Granger" followed her as she moved swiftly towards the lift at the end of the hallway. Granted, she wasn't exactly a speed racer, at least not while she was wearing four-inch stilettos. Let's just be honest. At best she could achieve a fast-paced walk, but heels like those simply weren't designed for anything more than that.

With a frustrated huff, she glanced at her watch. She was supposed to leave the office an hour early; to her dismay she discovered she was already twenty minutes behind schedule. She should have known it was absolutely useless to try to finish the last two pages of the report she'd spend the entire day writing. It was absolutely infuriating how much time she had spent trying not to think about Lucius and his disgustingly delicious smirk.

She sped up a little more, to make it to the lift before the doors closed and she would be forced to wait ten minutes for the next one to show up. She was only four feet from the elevator when she collided with what felt like a brick wall and found herself sitting on the floor, surrounded by scattered papers.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. This sort of thing always happens to me. Are you alright?" came a rather timid voice from above her.

Hermione glanced up, her eyes taking in the leggy brunette in a cute, romantic pink blouse with a black, high-waisted pencil skirt, and deep green eyes filled with concern. For some reason the girl looked rather familiar, but Hermione couldn't quite place her. It was rather odd.

"Are you alright, ?" the girl finally decided on, a blush slowly settling on her cheeks. Her fingers fumbled with the bottom of her shirt, her skirted away from any direct contact with Hermione's, and with a barely noticeable drop her shoulders shrunk inwards.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, you just look so familiar…" Hermione let the words trail, taking another glance at the girl in front of her, and it hit her like a punch to her gut. "Pansy Parkinson?" she inquired, trying to keep any judgment out of her voice. This was the girl who would be marrying her best friend, and as she'd learned with Lucius, people weren't always what they seemed.

The girl's blush only deepened, nodding her head carefully as her shoulders drooped even more, and her eyes cemented themselves to the floor. Clearly, she was waiting for some kind of verbal assault, no doubt already delivered to her by Ron. A week ago Hermione had no doubt she would have done just that. Fortunately for both of them, a lot can change in a week. If she was going to be stuck with the girl for the rest of their lives. She saw absolutely no point in ruining their relationship from the get-go. Better to put that particular ball in her court.

Unsure of how to start a conversation with the girl, she went for the most obvious question. "How are things with you and Harry going?"

"I'm so sorry. It was all a misunder-" She cut off mid-sentence, having only just realized what exactly Hermione had asked, and somehow Pansy managed to turn even redder. "Oh, um, things have been alright. He's a lot nicer than I expected him to be…especially after…well, everything…" she finished, awkwardly.

Hermione, from her vantage point on the floor, picked up the small smile spreading on Pansy's face when she talked about Harry. Maybe things weren't as bad as her friends and her had all assumed they would be."Yeah, Harry's like that. I don't think there's a person out there he couldn't find it in his heart to forgive."

Pansy smiled, though a bit nervously in return, offering Hermione a hand up. "Why are you being so nice to me? If you don't mind me asking, because Weasley didn't have a problem laying into me…"

Hermione took her hand, and allowed the girl to pull her up. "Well, truthfully, a week ago I probably would have made Ron look like a walk in the park, but I've realized since then that who people were in the past isn't always a good representation of who they are now. So, I figured I should at least give you a chance, because it wouldn't be very fair of me to give some people a chance but not others, if that makes sense." She said with a questioning tone, purposely cutting herself off before she started rambling.

"Well, can I just say that I'm glad we ran into each other today?" Pansy replied, a playful lilt to her voice.

Hermione laughed, surprising not only Pansy but herself as well. "I think you're entitled to that." She replied, glancing once more at her watch, "As much as I would actually love to talk, I'm already running late." _Something Lucius is sure to plague me about for the next century or two. _

Pansy nodded, offering a hand, this time to shake. "Of course, I completely understand. Hopefully, we'll be able to talk again sometime before we are all officially wed to our beaus."

Hermione smiled, giving the girl a firm but friendly handshake. "I hope so too." _Much to my surprise_, she thought,=, releasing the girls hand and giving one last smile before she moved into the lift, which had arrived right as they'd finished talking.

She gave the girl one last wave as the lift's doors closed, and then she was transported to the main atrium in the ministry. While she rode, she couldn't help thinking about how long it had been since she'd seen hide or tail of her two best friends, let alone any of her girl friends, excluding Ginny. Meeting Pansy had given her the idea of getting all the girls together to go dress shopping. It would give them time to bond. It would also have the dual purpose of finding wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses and any other wedding accessories they would need to purchase. _When I get home, I'll send an owl to Ginny, Luna, Pansy, Angelina, and Hannah. _

She let the idea shift to the back of her mind, stepping out of the lift and moving across the room with all the speed she could muster. She didn't want anyone to try to stop her, which was bound to happen if she didn't make it to the floo before people had time to notice and recognize her. Even after six months, people still stopped her just to get to talk to one of the Golden trio, one of the main instruments in the end of the war, and of course, the brightest witch of her age. Which was flattering, but it was a huge problem when she actually needed to be some place or wanted a second to herself. Since someone was always interested in getting a piece of her for one reason or another, it was like her privacy had flown out the window. None the less, much to her relief she made it across the atrium and into the hallway containing the various entrances and exits to the ministry.

With a relieved sigh she walked into one of the open floos, grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it down, shouting her apartment's location. She erupted a few moments later into her living room, and without pausing to cough –though she would have liked to- she rushed into her kitchen. She found a regal black owl sitting on her window sill, not that she was too surprised, but she still couldn't help the small shriek she let out. It was a fairly normal reaction if you asked her.

"Well, I guess Lucius noticed the fact that I'm almost an hour late," She commented to herself, reaching up to take the parchment from the owl's leg. Thankfully, it didn't bite her. Instead, it just regarded her with its beady eyes. "I see. You're just going to stare me to death until I reply. Aren't you just a bloody charmer," she mumbled to herself, before opening the roll of parchment to reveal Lucius' elegant scrawl.

_Hermione, _

_I wish to inquire about the status of our dinner tonight. I understand if you are unavailable. Please let me know_ your plans the moment you can reply, because I would be loathe to miss the opportunity to see you again, my dear.

_-Lucius M. _

Hermione couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her lips. He was just so…Lucius. She quickly went into the living room to grab a piece of parchment to pen him a quick note, letting him know she would be ready in half an hour. Thankfully, when she'd placed the reservations two days ago, she had requested a table for 7:30 instead of 6:30. She must have known this would happen.

After she gave her reply to the owl, she raced into her room and into the bathroom to get ready for their…she wasn't quite sure what to call it. It wasn't exactly a date, but it could be classified as one. _Whatever, let's just call it "Dinner."_ As one of the benefits of being in the Golden trio, she could pretty much get a table at any restaurant in town. Tonight she was taking advantage of that fact. She was taking Lucius to one of the newest restaurants in town. The "Golden Stag" was a high-class eatery in Wizarding London that served pretty much everything you might find in Muggle London. This was kind of an appetizer before she introduced him to real Muggle London, and it couldn't hurt that the executive chef was George's Squib cousins daughter, twelve times removed, or something like that. Apparently, that was a big deal. She had mentioned the name of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes proprietor -he was the one who recommended the place to her- before her own and was promised "the best table in the house" before she even inquired about seating availability.

Almost half an hour later, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, giving herself the once over, and she had to admit she looked _good_. Her hair was pulled back in a messy chiffon, loose bouncy curls escaping to frame her face. While her eyes were rimmed with black kohl, gold eye shadow glittered dangerously in the light, highlighting the gold flecks in her eyes. Her cheeks were emphasized by a light brushing of blush, but she wore no foundation, instead letting her naturally even skin tone shine through. Her lips were crimson red, and her pearly whites glistened in the bright light of the bathroom.

Her eyes trailed downwards to take in her outfit. She wore was a floor-length dress made with crimson red, flowy material, the slit reaching up to her mid-thigh, serving to highlight her long legs. Unlike the bottom of the gown, the bodice fit her like a glove, hugging her upper body until it reached the bottom of her ribs, where it flowed out elegantly. The bust –perhaps her favorite part- was made of a gold, glittery material that stood out like a blazing symbol of her Gryffindor status and only served to bring out the bright red of the material even more. To finish the outfit she wore gold chandelier earrings –a Loan from Ginny- and a beautiful gold bangle given to her by her parents when she was accepted to Hogwarts. Last but not least were the beautiful pair of strappy, gold heels she wore on her feet to display how slender and delicate they were. Plus it gave her an excuse to wear them after she'd splurged and bought them a few months ago, but that was only an added bonus, of course.

With one last smile at her reflection, she walked out of her bathroom and headed towards her living room. Lucius would be arriving any minute to pick her up. Just as she strode into the living room, she heard a knock on the door. _Speak of the devil, _she thought with a small smirk.

"Coming," she called, moving to open the door to let him in. When the door swung open, she felt her mouth drop, and the witty comment she'd prepared specially for this occasion fell from her lips. Whoever thought Lucius Malfoy was above wearing muggle suits was wrong, and Merlin be damned if she wasn't thanking god for that. There was simply no way to deny the sex appeal he oozed with that confident smirk and those icy blue eyes.

"Hermione, my dear, might I come in? Or are you content to ogle me for the rest of the evening?" Lucius drawled, that infuriating smirk of his seemingly glued to his cheeks.

With a blush Hermione managed to step back so he could come in. "I wasn't ogling you. I just…happened to remember something very important, that's all," she huffed. Though her excuse sounded pathetic even to her own ears, it was the best she could come up with at the time.

"Whatever you say, Dear," he replied, clearly unable to let that smirk drop. "I must say, you look absolutely ravishing. Though I'm disinclined to admit it, the lion's colors do suit you."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. To get Mr. Malfoy himself to admit she looked good in red was enough to put her in a ridiculously good mood. "Thank you, kind sir, and I might I say you represent your house quite well yourself," she replied gracefully, making a sweeping gesture to the silver dress shirt laying under his black suit and the green tie that hung against his chest, practically begging to be pulled.

Lucius just smirked as if he already knew this. Who was she kidding? He knew it, and he had no qualms letting it show. "Now, shall we go?"

"We shall," Hermione replied easily, slipping her arm through his, tightening her grip as the gut-wretching feeling of being sucked through a straw ran through her. The next time she blinked, they were standing in front of the Golden Stag, and then she was blinded by the bright lights of cameras going off. How on earth could they have known she was going to be here?

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, over here." "One quick question, Ms. Granger." "How does it feel to be married off to the most notorious Death Eater still outside of Azkaban, Ms. Granger?" "Ms. Granger!" "Ms. Granger." "Mr. Malfoy!"

The voices continued on, and the crowd around them seemed to grow ten-fold, all of them pushing and shoving, attempting to get a word out of one of them. It was starting to become too much for Hermione to handle. She hated feeling like she was closed in. It brought back too many memories. She could feel her pulse quicken and only just staved off the urge to reach for her wand. She needed space, and she needed it now!

"Lucius," she whispered, managing to get his attention, her hand sliding into his and gripping it as tightly as possible in an attempt to convey her please. To her surprise he took in her appearance, and next thing she knew she was in his arms. He made quick work of getting through the crowd. Sometime during the commotion her hands found their way around his neck, and she burrowed her face into his shoulder. The faint smell of old parchment and luxury cologne helped her calm down. It was easier to ignore the pulsing crowd around them when she had something to concentrate on.

"Ms. Granger, any comment on being given to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named most loyal subject?" "Mr. Malfoy, over here!" "Ms. Granger!"

The shouts hounded them mercilessly as they fought their way towards the restaurant. Finally, after what felt like hours, the noise around them faded, replaced by gentle orchestra music, and the lingering scent of home-style cooking.

"Hermione, I'm going to put your down, alright?" Lucius asked, his voice gentle in a way she never thought it could be, his breath tickling her ear.

"Yes," she replied, allowing him to set her back on her feet carefully, "thank you. Sometimes it's hard for me to handle huge crowds…" She trailed off, unable to remove her gaze from the floor.

A soft hand pushing a piece of hair out of her face startled her into looking up. "Hermione, I would hardly call those people any less than a pack of wild animals. Your reaction was well within the bounds of reason. Now, shall we forget them and have a fine dinner?" He was smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eye. Hermione noticed the way his hands were balled into tight fists, and his posture was rigid.

Hermione smiled softly, slipping her hand back into his instinctively. "I'd like that," she replied, trying to beat down the disgustingly happy smile that threatened to take over when his fingers relaxed intertwining with hers. For some reason, which she couldn't quite explain, it felt right, not awkward like the others boys she'd held hands with his hand fit perfectly against hers.

_Hello again my dears, _

_I just wanted to let you all know that I have uploading pictures of both Hermione's and Lucius's outfits for the date onto my profile. If anyone is interested in checking them out. _

_Thanks again for reading_

_Love, _

_Fallen_

_P.S. One last mention for my favorite Beta, just wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you're doing for me!_


	7. Author note

Hermione tried, tried to take a breath, or smile. She needed to do something, anything, to make it look like two words hadn't just destroyed her world. Two words. That was all it took to shatter any illusions that she was doing alright.

She needed to pull herself together. She had to be the strong one, for everyone, she could not allow herself to be weak. Not now. Not ever.

She looked up at everyone who was sitting around table, her lips trembling but she managed a smile. Then she uttered the two words that made her heart shatter and send the pieces tumbling into the depths of her stomach, "Lucius Malfoy."

~two weeks earlier~

Hermione steeled herself, releasing one small sigh, and knocked on the door to the Burrow. It was exactly two minutes till two, and as usual she was going to be on time. Hermione Granger, was never late.

The door opened, and Hermione found herself being pressed into the healthy bosom of one, Molly Weasley, "Oh, my sweet girl, do come in and don't mind the mess, dear, you know how the boys are."

Without waiting for a reply, Molly manhandled her through the door and into the living room. Where, by some act of god, all the boy were already assembled.

That should have been her first clue, but instead she pasted on a smile and moved in to greet everyone.

"Hey 'Mione," Ron called from the couch besides Harry, as if he didn't know how much she loathed that nickname, and Harry chimed in a second later. Though, he at least had the decency to refer to her by her actual name. She really did hate nicknamed.

"Hello boys." She called back, nodding to Bill, Fleur and Charlie, whom she was rather surprised to see here. As she hadn't seen any of them in the months following the final battle. All three returned her nods, than faded back into the quiet conversation they were having with each other.

Finally, she made her way to the small couch occupied by her three favorite red-heads, the twins and Ginny. Ron had fallen to dead last, after the final battle, where upon her rejecting him he'd turned into a complete and total arse.

"And here we'd thought you'd forgotten us," The twins chimed, identical smirks pulling at their faces, and both shot her a quick wink when they though Ginny wasn't looking.

Ginny corrected that with a swift slap to the back of the head, "Keep your eyes off my best mate, you animals," she growled, before shooting a smile her way, "Now there's plenty of room over here, so make yourself comfortable."

Hermione simply rolled her eyes at the twins antics and seated herself between George and Ginny, because she had no intention of placing herself between the twins. Not unless she wanted to die a slow, torturous death. Even if it was death by laughter.

On second thought, maybe she should have sat next to the twins, she could do with a good laugh. She hadn't had a genuine laugh since sixth year. Or at least, that's what it felt like.

"So, do any of you guys know what's going on?" She asked, letting her gaze wonder between all their faces.

"Nope, not a clue," The twins chorused, "We just know mum wanted us here, and so here we are."

Ginny simply shrugged her shouldered, looking just as confused as Hermione felt.

Just before she was going to ask the others, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered the room, Kingsely Shacklebolt at their side. Well, apparently the question was about to answered for her, and from the looks of things, she was going to wish she hadn't asked.

The conversations in the room all quieted as everyone noticed them enter, and the confusion grew on all faces but her own. If their was one thing she'd learned in the past few months, it was how to keep her emotions in check and show the world only what she wanted them to see.


End file.
